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HARVARD  UNIVERSITY 
CAMBRIDGE,  MASS.,  U.  S.  A. 


HARVARD   ECONOMIC  STUDIES 

PUBLISHED   UNDER  THE  DIRECTION  OF 
THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  ECONOMICS 

VOL.  VII 


THE  HISTORY  OF 
THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 


BY 


J.  C.   HEMMEON,   PH.D. 


PUBLISHED  FROM  THE  INCOME  OF  THE 
WILLIAM  H.  BALDWIN,  JR.,  1883,  FUND 


CAMBRIDGE 

HARVARD   UNIVERSITY 

1912 


COPYRIGHT,   1912,  BY  THE  PRESIDENT  AND   FELLOWS  OF  HARVARD   COLLEGE 
ALL   RIGHTS   RESERVED 

Published  January  iqi2 


PREFACE 

IN  justice  to  those  principles  which  influenced  the  policy  of  the 
Post  Office  before  the  introduction  of  penny  postage,  it  is  perhaps 
unnecessary  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  no  opinion  as  to  their 
desirability  or  otherwise  is  justifiable  which  does  not  take  into 
consideration  the  conditions  and  prejudices  which  then  prevailed. 
Some  of  the  earlier  writers  on  the  Post  Office  have  made  the  mis- 
take of  condemning  everything  which  has  not  satisfied  the  measure 
of  their  own  particular  rule.  If  there  is  anything  that  the  historical 
treatment  of  a  subject  teaches  the  investigator  it  is  an  appreciation 
of  the  fact  that  different  conditions  call  for  different  methods  of 
treatment.  For  example,  the  introduction  of  cheap  postage  was 
possibly  delayed  too  long.  But  during  the  era  of  high  postal  rates  a 
large  net  revenue  was  of  primary  importance,  nor  were  those  condi- 
tions present  which  would  have  made  low  rates  a  success. 
•  The  consideration  of  such  debatable  subjects  as  the  telegraph 
system  of  the  Postal  Department  and  the  department's  attitude 
toward  the  telephone  companies,  as  well  as  the  intention  of  the  Post 
Office  to  acquire  the  business  of  the  latter,  must  necessarily  give 
rise  to  controversy.  Thanks  to  the  magnificent  net  revenue  ob- 
tained from  letters  in  the  United  Kingdom  the  department  has 
been  able  to  lose  a  good  deal  of  money  by  the  extension  of  its  activ- 
ities into  the  realm  of  affairs  not  purely  postal.  Possibly  a  demo- 
cratic type  of  government  should,  from  the  financial  point  of  view, 
interfere  least  in  the  direct  management  of  economic  institutions, 
on  account  of  the  pressure  which  can  easily  be  brought  to  bear  upon 
it  for  the  extension  of  such  institutions  on  other  than  economic 
grounds.  If  non-economic  principles  are  to  be  substituted  in  justi- 
fying the  initiation  or  increase  of  government  ownership,  a  popular 
form  of  government  seems  the  least  suitable  for  the  presentation  of 
such  as  shall  be  fair  to  all  concerned,  not  to  mention  the  difficult 
problem  of  dealing  with  those  members  of  the  civil  service  who  do 

241285 


VI  PREFACE 

not  hesitate  to  make  use  of  their  political  power  to  enforce  their 
demands  upon  the  government. 

In  the  treatment  of  a  subject  so  complex  as  the  history  of  the 
British  Post  Office  it  is  not  easy  to  decide  how  far  its  presentation 
should  be  strictly  chronological  or  how  far  it  should  be  mounted  in 
tl  longitudinal  sections,"  exposing  its  most  salient  features.  Both 
methods  have  their  advantages  and  their  disadvantages.  In  order 
to  obtain  what  is  useful  in  both,  I  have  described  chronologically  in 
the  first  four  chapters  the  progress  of  the  Post  Office,  while  in  the 
remaining  chapters  I  have  examined  separately  some  of  the  more 
important  aspects  of  postal  development.  But  I  am  aware  that  by 
this  compromise  I  have  not  entirely  escaped  the  dangers  of  abrupt 
transitions  from  subject  to  subject  and  of  the  accumulation  of  dry 
details.  I  can  only  plead  in  extenuation,  in  the  first  place  the  nature 
of  my  subject,  an  institution  with  a  long  and  varied  history,  char- 
acterized by  the  steady  extension  of  its  field  of  activity,  and  in  the 
second  place  my  desire  to  make  my  study  as  thorough  as  possible, 
even  at  the  risk  of  some  sacrifice  of  unity  and  interest  of  treatment. 

The  material  for  this  sketch  has  been  obtained  from  the  Harvard 
University  Library,  the  Boston  Public  Library,  and  the  Canadian 
Parliamentary  Library.  Work  was  also  done  in  the  Library  of  the 
British  Museum.  I  wish  to  acknowledge  the  help  I  have  received 
from  the  advice  and  criticism  of  Professor  Gay,  under  whose  super- 
vision the  larger  part  of  this  history  was  prepared. 

J.  C.  HEMMEON. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  I 

THE  POSTAL  ESTABLISHMENT  SUPPORTED  DIRECTLY  BY  THE  STATE 

—PRIOR  TO  1635 3 

Methods  of  postal  communication  in  vogue  before  the  establishment  of  the 
Post  Office.  The  first  Postmaster-General  and  his  duties.  Alternative  sys- 
tems. The  posts  in  Elizabeth's  reign.  Appointment  of  a  Foreign  Post- 
master-General. Rivalry  between  the  two  Postmasters-General.  Wither- 
ings  as  Foreign  Postmaster-General. 

CHAPTER  II 

THE  POSTAL  ESTABLISHMENT  A  SOURCE  OF  REVENUE  TO  THE  STATE 
—  1635-1711 13 

Condition  of  the  postal  establishment  at  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth 
century.  Witherings'  project  adopted.  Disturbance  produced  in  the  Post 
Office  by  the  struggle  between  the  two  Houses  of  Parliament.  Rival  ^ 
claimants  for  the  office  of  Postmaster- General.  The  Civil  War  and  its , 
effects  upon  the  Post  Office.  The  Post  Office  during  the  Commonwealth. 
Farming  of  the  Post  Office.  Complaints  about  the  delivery  of  letters  after 
the  Restoration.  Condition  of  the  postal  establishment  at  the  close  of  the 
seventeenth  century.  Dockwra's  London  Penny  Post.  Extension  of  the 
foreign  postal  service.  Conditions  in  Ireland,  Scotland,  and  the  American 
Colonies. 

CHAPTER  III 

THE  POSTAL  ESTABLISHMENT  AN  INSTRUMENT  OF  TAXATION  — 
1711-1840 34 

The  Post  Office  Act  of  1711.  The  Post  Office  as  a  whole  ceases  to  be 
farmed.  Allen  undertakes  the  farm  of  the  bye  and  cross  posts.  Improve- 
ments in  postal  communications  during  the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  Controversy  over  the  delivery  of  letters.  Competition  from  post 
coaches.  Establishment  of  mail  coaches  by  Palmer.  Abuses  in  the  Post 
Office  and  their  reform.  Opening  and  detention  of  letters.  Franking  of 
newspapers  in  certain  cases  and  other  privileges  abolished.  The  News- 
paper and  Dead  Letter  Offices.  Registration  of  letters.  Money  Order 
Office.  Changes  in  the  London  Penny  Post.  Consolidation  of  different 
branches  of  the  Post  Office  in  London.  Dublin  and  Edinburgh  Penny 


viii  CONTENTS 

Posts.  Question  of  Sunday  posts.  Conditions  under  which  mail  coaches 
were  supplied.  Conveyance  of  mails  by  railways.  Condition  of  the  postal 
establishment  during  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Irish  Post 
Office  and  postal  rates.  Scotch  Post  Office.  Sir  Rowland  Hill's  plan. 
Investigation  of  postal  affairs  by  a  committee.  Report  of  committee. 
Adoption  of  inland  penny  postage. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  POSTAL  ESTABLISHMENT  AN  INSTRUMENT  OF  POPULAR  COM- 
MUNICATION— SINCE  1840 63 

Reductions  in  rates  of  postage,  inland,  colonial  and  foreign;  and  resultant 
increase  in  postal  matter.  Insurance  and  registration  of  letters.  Failure 
of  attempt  to  introduce  compulsory  pre-payment  of  postage.  Perforated 
postage  stamps.  Free  and  guaranteed  delivery  of  letters  in  rural  districts. 
Express  or  special  delivery  of  letters.  Newspaper  postage  rates.  Book 
or  Halfpenny  Post.  Pattern  and  Sample  Post.  Use  of  postcards.  Parcel 
Post.  Question  of  "cash  on  delivery."  Postal  notes.  Their  effect  upon 
the  number  of  money  orders.  Savings  banks.  Assurance  and  annuity 
privileges.  Reform  in  these  offices  by  Mr.  Fawcett.  Methods  of  convey- 
ance of  the  mails.  Condition  of  postal  employees.  Sunday  labour.  Dis- 
satisfaction of  employees  with  committee  of  1858.  Mr.  Fawcett's  reforms 
in  1881  and  1882.  Mr.  Raikes'  concessions  in  1888,  1890,  and  1891.  Ap- 
pointment of  Tweedmouth  Committee  in  1895  gives  little  satisfaction  to 
the  men.  Appointment  of  a  departmental  committee.  Grievances  of  the 
men.  Report  of  committee  accepted  only  in  part  by  the  Postmaster- 
General.  Continued  demand  of  the  men  for  a  select  committee.  Conces- 
sions granted  to  the  men  by  Mr.  Buxton,  the  Postmaster-General.  Select 
committee  appointed.  Their  report  adopted  by  Mr.  Buxton.  Continued 
dissatisfaction  among  the  men. 

CHAPTER  V 
THE  TRAVELLERS'  POST  AND  POST  HORSES 89 

Houses  provided  by  the  postmasters.  Complaints  concerning  the  letting 
of  horses.  Monopoly  in  letting  horses  granted  to  the  postmasters.  Re- 
forms during  Witherings'  administration.  Fees  charged.  Postmasters' 
monopoly  abridged.  Licences  required  and  duties  levied.  These  duties  let 
out  to  farm.  Licences  and  fees  re-adjusted. 

CHAPTER  VI 
ROADS  AND  SPEED 97 

Post  roads  in  the  sixteenth  century.   Speed  at  which  mails  were  carried 
in  the  sixteenth  century.    Abuses  during  first  part  of  the  seventeenth 


CONTENTS  IX 

century.  New  roads  opened.  Roads  in  Ireland  and  Scotland.  First  cross 
post  road  established  in  1698.  Improvement  in  speed.  Delays  in  connec- 
tion with  Irish  packet  boats.  Increased  speed  obtained  from  use  of  rail- 
ways. 

CHAPTER  VII 
SAILING  PACKETS  AND  FOREIGN  CONNECTIONS 109 

Establishment  of  first  regular  sailing  packets.  Sailing  packets  in  the 
seventeenth  century.  Difficulty  with  the  Irish  Office.  Postal  communic- 
ations with  the  continent  during  the  sixteenth  century.  Witherings  im- 
proves the  foreign  service.  Agreements  with  foreign  postmasters-general. 
Expressions  of  dissatisfaction.  Treaties  with  France.  King  William's 
interest  in  the  Harwich  sailing  packets.  Effect  of  the  war  with  France. 
Postal  communications  with  France  improved.  Dummer's  West  Indian 
packet  boats.  Other  lines.  Increase  in  number  of  sailing  packets.  Steam 
packets  introduced  by  the  Post  Office.  They  are  badly  managed  and  prove 
a  financial  loss.  Report  against  government  ownership  of  the  steam  pack- 
ets. Ship  letter  money.  Question  of  carriage  of  goods.  Trouble  with  cus- 
tom's department  adjusted.  Methods  of  furnishing  supplies  for  the 
packet  boats.  Abuses  in  the  sailing  packet  service  reformed.  Expenses. 
Sailing  packets  transferred  to  the  Admiralty.  Committee  reports  against 
principle  of  government  ownership  of  packet  boats  and  payment  of  excess- 
ive sums  to  contractors.  Abandonment  of  principle  of  government  owner- 
ship. General  view  of  packet  services  in  existence  at  middle  of  the  nine- 
teenth century.  Contracts  with  steamship  companies.  Controversy  with 
the  companies.  General  view  of  the  packet  service  in  1907  with  prin- 
ciples adopted  in  concluding  contracts.  Expenses  of  sailing  packets. 

CHAPTER  VIII 
RATES  AND  FINANCE 135 

Foreign  rates,  1626.  First  inland  rates,  1635.  Rates  prescribed  by  Council 
of  State,  1652.  Rates  collected  by  the  Farmers  of  the  Posts.  First  rates 
established  by  act  of  Parliament,  1657.  Slightly  amended,  1660.  Sepa- 
rate rates  for  Scotland,  1660.  Scotch  rates,  1695.  Rates  to  and  within 
Jamaica.  In  American  Colonies,  1698.  Increased  rates,  inland,  colonial 
and  foreign,  1711.  Controversy  over  rates  on  enclosures.  Slight  reductions 
in  rates,  1765.  Increases  in  1784,  1796,  1801.  In  Ireland,  1803.  For 
United  Kingdom  a  further  increase,  1805.  Culminating  point  of  high  rates, 
1812.  Changes  in  Irish  rates,  1810, 1813,  1814.  Rates  on  "ships'  letters," 
1814.  Irish  rates  to  be  collected  in  British  currency,  1827.  Reduction  in 
rates  between  England  and  France,  1836.  Consolidating  act  of  1837. 
Rates  by  contractors'  packet  boats,  1837.  Rates  charged  according  to 
weight  in  certain  cases,  1839.  Inland  penny  postage  adopted  and  basis 
of  rate-charging  changed  to  weight,  1840.  Franking  privilege,  1652. 
Abused.  Attempt  to  curtail  the  use  of  franks  only  partially  successful. 


CONTENTS 

Curtailment  so  far  as  members  of  Parliament  are  concerned.  Estimated 
loss  from  franking.  Enquiry  into  question  of  franking.  Further  attempts 
to  control  the  abuse  prove  fruitless.  Extension  of  franking  privilege  espe- 
cially on  newspapers.  Abolition  of  franking  privilege,  1840.  Reductions  in 
letter,  newspaper,  and  book  post  rates.  Re-directed  letter  and  registration 
fees.  Inland  parcel  post  established.  Postcards  introduced.  Concessions 
of  1884  and  Jubilee  concessions.  Foreign  and  colonial  rates  reduced.  Re- 
ductions in  money  order  and  postal  note  rates.  Telegraph  money  order 
rates. 

Finances  of  the  Post  Office  before  the  seventeenth  century.  From  begin- 
ning of  seventeenth  century  to  Witherings'  reforms.  From  1635  to  1711. 
During  the  remainder  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Finances  of  Scotch  and 
Irish  Posts.  Of  the  London  Penny  Post.  From  bye  and  cross  post  letters. 
Finances  of  the  Post  Office  from  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century 
to  1840.  Since  the  introduction  of  inland  penny  postage. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  QUESTION  OF  MONOPOLY 189 

Rival  methods  available  for  the  conveyance  of  letters.  Government's 
monopolistic  proclamation  the  result  of  an  attempt  to  discover  treason- 
able correspondence.  Competition  diminishes  under  Witherings'  efficient 
management.  House  of  Commons  declares  itself  favourable  to  competi- 
tion. Changes  its  attitude  when  in  control  of  the  posts.  Monopoly  of 
government  enforced  more  rigorously.  Carriers'  posts  largely  curtailed. 
London's  illegal  Half-penny  Post.  Attempts  to  evade  the  payment  of 
postage  very  numerous  during  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
Different  methods  of  evasion  outlined. 

CHAPTER  X 

THE  TELEGRAPH  SYSTEM  AS  A  BRANCH  OF  THE  POSTAL  DEPART- 
MENT       202 

The  telegraph  companies  under  private  management.  Proposals  for 
government  ownership  and  Mr.  Scudamore's  report.  Conditions  under 
which  the  telegraph  companies  were  acquired.  Public  telegraph  business 
of  the  railways.  Cost  of  acquisition.  Rates  charged  by  the  government. 
Reduction  in  rates  in  1885.  Guarantee  obligations  reduced.  Under- 
ground lines  constructed.  Telegraphic  relations  with  the  continent. 
Position  of  the  government  with  reference  to  the  wireless  telegraph  com- 
panies. Attempts  to  place  the  government  telegraphs  on  a  paying  basis 
do  not  prove  a  success.  Financial  aspect  of  the  question.  Reasons  given 
for  the  lack  of  financial  success. 


CONTENTS  XI 

CHAPTER  XI 

THE  POST  OFFICE  AND  THE  TELEPHONE  COMPANIES     .    .    .    .219 

Telephones  introduced  into  England.  Judicial  decision  in  favour  of  the 
department.  Restricted  licences  granted  the  companies.  Feeble  attempt 
on  the  part  of  the  department  to  establish  exchanges.  Difficulties  en- 
countered by  the  companies.  Popular  discontent  with  the  policy  of  the 
department  leads  to  granting  of  unrestricted  licences.  Way-leave  dif- 
ficulties restrict  efficiency  of  the  companies.  Agreement  with  National 
Telephone  Company  and  acquisition  of  the  trunk  lines  by  the  depart- 
ment. Demand  for  competition  from  some  municipalities  leads  to  grant- 
ing of  licences  to  a  few  cities  and  towns.  The  department  itself  estab- 
lishes a  competing  exchange  in  London.  History  of  the  exchanges  owned 
and  operated  by  the  municipalities.  Struggle  between  the  London 
County  Council  and  the  company's  exchange  in  London.  Relation  be- 
tween the  company's  and  the  department's  London  exchanges.  Agree- 
ment with  the  company  for  the  purchase  of  its  exchanges  in  1911.  Finan- 
cial aspect  of  the  department's  system. 

CHAPTER  XII 
CONCLUSION       237 

APPENDIX 

EXPENDITURE  AND  REVENUE  TABLES 241 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 253 

INDEX '  .' ' 259 


TABLE    OF   ABBREVIATIONS 

Acc.  &  P.  Accounts  and  Papers. 

A.  P.  C.  Acts  of  the  Privy  Council. 

Add.  Additional. 

Cal.  B.  P.  Calendar  of  Border  Papers. 

Cal.  S.  P.  Calendar  of  State  Papers.  A.  &  W.  I.,  Col.,  D.,  For.,  and  Ire., 

added  to  Cal.  S.  P.,  indicate  respectively  the  America  and 

West  Indies,  Colonial,  Domestic,  Foreign,  and  Ireland  sections 

of  this  series. 

Cal.  T.  B.  Calendar  of  Treasury  Books. 

Cal.  T.  P.  Calendar  of  Treasury  Papers. 

Cal.  T.  B.  &  P.  Calendar  of  Treasury  Books  and  Papers. 

D.  N.  B.  Dictionary  of  National  Biography. 

Fin.  Rep.,  1797.  Finance  Reports,  1797-98. 

Hist.  MSS.  Com.  Royal  Commission  on  Historical  Manuscripts. 

Jo.  H.  C.  Journals  of  the  House  of  Commons. 

Jo.  H.  L.  Journals  of  the  House  of  Lords. 

Joyce.  Joyce,  H.  The  History  of  the  Post  Office  to  1836. 

L.  &  P.  Hen.  VIII.  Letters  and  Papers,  Foreign  and  Domestic,  Henry  VIII. 

Parl.  Deb.  Hansard,  Parliamentary  Debates. 

Parl.  Papers.  Parliamentary  Papers. 

P.  &  O.  P.  C.  Proceedings  and  Ordinances  of  the  Privy  Council. 

Rep.  Commrs.  Reports  from  Commissioners. 

Rep.  Com.  Reports  from  Committees. 

Rep.  P.  G.  Reports  of  the  Postmasters -General. 

Scobell,  Collect.  Scobell,  H.  A  Collection  of  Acts  and  Ordinances  made  in  the 

Parliament  held  3  Nov.,  1640  to  17  Sept.,  1656. 


THE   HISTORY    OF 
THE    BRITISH    POST   OFFICE 


THE   HISTORY    OF 
THE  BRITISH   POST  OFFICE 

CHAPTER  I 

THE  POSTAL  ESTABLISHMENT  SUPPORTED  DIRECTLY  BY  THE  STATE 

THE  history  of  the  British  Post  Office  starts  with  the  beginning 
of  the  sixteenth  century.  Long  before  this,  however,  a  system  of 
communication  had  been  established  both  for  the  personal  use  of 
the  King  and  for  the  conveyance  of  official  letters  and  documents. 
These  continued  to  be  the  principal  functions  of  the  royal  posts 
until  well  on  in  the  seventeenth  century. 

Before  the  sixteenth  century,  postal  communications  were  carried 
on  by  royal  messengers.  These  messengers  either  received  stated 
wages  or  were  paid  according  to  the  length  of  the  journeys  they 
made.  We  find  them  mentioned  as  early  as  the  reign  of  King  John 
under  the  name  of  nuncii  or  cursores;  and  payments  to  them  form 
a  large  item  in  the  Household  and  Wardrobe  accounts  of  the  King 
as  early  as  these  accounts  exist.1  They  travelled  the  whole  of  the 
journey  themselves  and  delivered  their  letters  personally  to  the 
people  to  whom  they  were  directed.  A  somewhat  different  style  of 
postal  service,  a  precursor  of  the  modern  method,  was  inaugurated 
by  the  fourth  Edward.  During  the  war  with  Scotland  he  found 
himself  in  need  of  a  speedier  and  better  system  of  communication 
between  the  seat  of  war  and  the  seat  of  government.  He  accom- 
plished this  by  placing  horses  at  intervals  of  twenty  miles  along  the 
great  road  between  England  and  Scotland.  By  so  doing  his  mes- 
sengers were  able  to  take  up  fresh  horses  along  the  way  and  his 
despatches  were  carried  at  the  rate  of  a  hundred  miles  a  day.2 

From  an  early  period  private  letters  were  conveyed  by  carriers 

1  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  xiv,  app.,  p.  21. 

2  Notes  and  Queries,  ist  series,  iii,  p.  266. 


4: ;  :  &HE  'HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

and  travellers  both  within  the  kingdom  and  between  it  and  the 
Continent.  The  Pas  ton  letters,1  containing  the  correspondence  of 
the  different  members  of  the  Paston  family,  throw  some  light  upon 
the  manner  in  which  letters  were  conveyed  during  the  latter  half 
of  the  fifteenth  century.  Judging  from  such  references  as  we  find 
in  the  letters  themselves,  they  were  generally  carried  by  a  servant,2 
a  messenger,3  or  a  friend.4  The  later  letters  of  this  series,  written 
towards  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century,  show  that  regular  mes- 
sengers and  carriers,  who  carried  letters  and  parcels,  travelled  be- 
tween London  and  Norwich  and  other  parts  of  Norfolk.5  From  the 
fourteenth  century  down,  we  have  instances  of  writs  being  issued 
to  mayors,  sheriffs,  and  bailiffs  for  the  apprehension  and  examin- 
ation of  travellers,  who  were  suspected  of  conveying  treasonable 
correspondence  between  England  and  the  Continent.6  For  the 
most  part  these  letters  were  carried  by  servants,  messengers,  and 
merchants.7 

Sir  Brian  Tuke  is  the  first  English  Postmaster- General  of  whom 
we  have  any  record.  The  King's  "  Book  of  Payments"  for  the  year 
1512  contains  an  order  for  the  payment  of  £100  to  Sir  Brian  for  his 
use  as  Master  of  the  Posts.8  As  the  King's  appointed  Postmaster, 
he  received  a  salary  of  £66  13$.  4d.9  He  name  J  the  postmen,  or 
deputy  postmasters  as  they  were  called  later,  and  he  was  held  re- 
sponsible for  the  performance  of  their  duties.10  All  letters  carried 
by  the  royal  postmen  were  delivered  to  him,  and  after  being  sorted 
by  him  personally  were  carried  to  their  destination  by  the  court 
messengers.11  The  wages  of  the  postmen  varied  from  is.  to  25.  a  day 
according  to  the  number  of  horses  provided,  and  they  were  paid  by 
the  Postmaster- General,  who  had  authority  to  make  all  payments 
to  those  regularly  employed.12  If  messages  or  letters  were  sent  by 

1  These  letters  were  sent  principally  between  London  and  different  places  in 
Norfolk. 

The  Paston  Letters,  ed.  J.  Gairdner,  1872,  nos.  34,  305,  435,  609,  624,  663,  905. 

Ibid.,  nos.  540,  688,  723,  727.  4  Ibid.,  nos.  656,  905. 

Ibid.,  nos.  688,  723,  745.  6  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  xiv,  app.,  p.  96  (68). 

Cely  Papers,  ed.  H.  E.  Maiden,  1900,  nos.  41,  72,  123,  124,  129,  132. 

L.  &•  P.  Hen.  VIII,  ii,  pt.  2,  p.  1454. 

Rep.  Com.  1844,  xiv,  app.,  p.  21  (8).  10  Ibid.,  1844,  xiv,  app.,  p.  32  (7^. 

11  L.  &•  P.  Hen.  VIII,  1515-18,  64;  ibid.,  1526-28,  4359,  4406;  ibid.,  1540-41,  540. 

12  A.  P.  C.,  1542-47,  P-  20. 


THE  ESTABLISHMENT  SUPPORTED  BY  THE  STATE     5 

special  messengers,  their  payment  entailed  additional  expense 
upon  the  state  and  the  use  of  such  messengers,  when  regular  post- 
men were  available,  was  strongly  discouraged.1 

In  addition  to  his  other  duties  Sir  Brian  was  supposed  to  have 
a  general  supervision  over  the  horses  used  for  the  conveyance  of 
letters  and  of  travellers  riding  on  affairs  of  state.  Of  course  on  the 
regular  roads  there  were  always  horses  in  readiness,  provided  by 
the  postmen.  Where  there  were  no  regular  post  roads,  the  town- 
ships were  supposed  to  provide  the  necessary  horses,  and  it  was  part 
of  the  Postmaster-General's  duties  to  see  that  the  townships  were 
kept  up  to  the  mark.2  It  was  largely  on  account  of  the  fact  that  the 
same  horses  were  used  for  conveying  travellers  and  mails  that  the 
systems  of  postal  and  personal  communication  were  so  closely 
interwoven  as  well  in  England  as  in  continental  countries.3 

The  postmen  along  the  old  established  routes  and  on  the  routes 
temporarily  established  for  some  definite  purpose  received  a  fixed 
daily  wage.  These  men  were  called  the  ordinary  posts.4  If,  however, 
letters  should  arrive  in  Dover  after  the  ordinary  post  had  left  for 
London,  they  were  generally  sent  on  at  once  by  a  messenger  hired 
for  the  occasion  only.  He  was  called  a  special  post  and  was  paid 
only  for  the  work  which  he  actually  performed.5  Those  regular  posts, 
who  carried  the  royal  and  state  letters  between  London  and  the 
place  where  the  Court  might  be,  were  called  "  Court  Posts." 6  Dur- 
ing the  sovereign's  tours,  posts  were  always  stationed  between 
him  and  London  to  carry  his  and  the  state's  letters  backward  and 
forward.  These  were  called  extraordinary  posts  and  received  regu- 
lar wages  while  so  employed.7  In  addition  there  were  always  mes- 
sengers employed  to  carry  important  despatches  to  foreign  sov- 
ereigns. These  received  no  fixed  wages,  but  were  paid  accord- 

L.  fir  P,  Hen.  VIII,  1535,  P-  27. 

Rep.  Com.,  1844,  *iv,  app.,  p.  32  (7).  A.  P.  C.,  1542-47,  P-  20. 

A.  de  Rothschild,  Histoire  de  laposte  aux  lettres,  Paris,  1873,  pp.  95-97,  114-15. 

L.  &  P.  Hen.  VIII,  xiii,  226;  A.  P.  C.,  1547-50?  PP-  Iir,  278,  307,  319,  413. 

L.  &•  P,  Hen.  VIII,  x,  33, 136;  xvi,  202,  236,  284;  P.  &•  0.  P.  C.,  vii,  p.  72;  A.  P. 
C.,  1550-52,  pp.  56,  79,  108,  225,  270,  298. 

8  L.  6"  P.  Hen.  VIII,  xvi,  p.  540;  P.  &•  0.  P.  C.,  vii,  p.  133;  A.  P.  C.,  1558-70, 
p.  238. 

7  L.  &  P.  Hen.  VIII,  xi,  726;  A.  P.  C.,  1547-50,  p.  360;  ibid.,  1592,  pp.  128, 150; 
Cd.  S.  P.  D.,  1547-80,  pp.  599,  637,  677. 


6          THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

ing  to  the  distance  travelled  and  the  expenses  incurred  on  the 
road.1 

Apart  from  his  regular  duties  as'outlined  above,  the  Postmaster- 
General  had  little  initiative  power.  He  could  not  on  his  own  respon- 
sibility order  new  posts  to  be  laid.  Such  decisions  always  originated 
with  the  King  or  the  Council  and  Tuke  simply  executed  their 
orders.2  Any  increase  in  the  wages  of  the  posts  also  required  the 
consent  of  the  King  or  Council.3 

During  the  sixteenth  century  there  were  three  ways  to  send 
letters  between  England  and  the  Continent:  by  the  Royal  Post,  the 
Foreigners'  Post,  and  the  Merchant  Adventurers'  Post,  apart  from 
such  opportunities  as  occasional  travellers  and  messengers  offered. 
The  Royal  Posts  were  presumed  to  carry  only  state  letters,  and  con- 
sequently the  conveyance  of  a  large  part  of  the  private  letters  fell 
to  the  other  two.  Owing  to  industrial  and  later  to  religious  motives 
there  had  been  a  large  emigration  of  foreigners  from  the  Continent 
to  England.  Edward  III  had  induced  many  Flemings  to  leave  their 
native  country  in  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century.4  Froude 
says,  probably  with  exaggeration,  that  in  1527  there  were  15,000 
Flemings  in  London  alone.5  In  the  fifteenth  century  many  Italian 
artisans  came  over  to  reside  but  not  to  settle.6  They  were  a  thrifty 
people,  who  did  much  to  place  the  industrial  life  of  England  on  a 
better  footing,  and  were  probably  more  intelligent  and  better  edu- 
cated than  the  majority  of  the  English  artisans  among  whom  they 
settled.  It  seems  therefore  only  natural  that  they  should  seek  to 
establish  a  better  system  of  communication  between  their  adopted 
and  native  countries.  Their  business  relations  with  the  cloth  mar- 
kets of  the  continental  cities  made  necessary  a  better  and  speedier 
postal  system  than  was  afforded  by  the  Royal  Posts.  In  addition 
to  this,  it  was  only  by  act  of  grace  that  private  letters  were  carried 

1  A.  P.  C.,  1558-70,  pp.  39,  58,  in,  207,  216,  257,  258. 

»  L.  &•  P.  Hen.  VII,  xvi,  540;  A.  P.  C.  1556-58,  pp.  248,  309. 

8  A.  P.  C.,  1556-58,  pp.  136, 188,  385.  For  instance,  in  1557  the  Council  issued 
orders  to  increase  the  wages  of  the  London-Berwick  posts  from  i2d.  to  i6d.  and  event- 
ually to  2od .  a  day;  but  as  soon  as  their  work  had  again  become  normal,  their  wages 
were  reduced  to  the  old  rate. 

4  W.  Cunningham,  Growth  of  English  Industry  and  Commerce,  1896,  i,  pp.  305-306. 

•  J.  A.  Froude,  History  of  England,  1862,  i,  p.  127. 

8  Cunningham,  i,  p.  430. 


THE  ESTABLISHMENT  SUPPORTED  BY  THE  STATE     7 

by  Tuke's  postmen.  In  the  opening  year  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
by  permission  of  the  state,  the  foreign  merchants  in  London  estab- 
lished a  system  of  posts  of  their  own  between  the  English  capital 
and  the  Continent.  This  was  called  the  "Foreign  or  Strangers' 
Post,"  and  was  managed  by  a  Postmaster-General,  nominated  by 
the  Italians,  Spanish,  and  Dutch  and  confirmed  by  the  Council.1 
These  posts  were  used  largely  by  the  English  merchants  in  spite 
of  considerable  dissatisfaction  on  account  of  the  poor  service  af- 
forded and  on  political  grounds.  Their  grievances  were  detailed  in 
a  petition  to  the  Privy  Council.  They  considered  it  unprecedented 
that  so  important  a  service  as  the  carriage  of  letters  should  be  in 
the  hands  of  men  who  owed  no  allegiance  to  the  King.  Such  a  pro- 
cedure was  unheard  of  in  any  of  the  continental  countries.  "  What 
check  could  there  be  over  treasonable  correspondence  while  the 
carriage  of  letters  continued  to  be  in  the  hands  of  foreigners  and 
most  of  them  Dutchmen?  "  In  addition  they  were  not  treated  so  well 
as  were  their  fellow  merchants  of  foreign  allegiance.  Their  letters 
were  often  retained  for  several  days  at  a  time,  while  all  others  were 
delivered  as  soon  as  they  arrived.  The  foreign  ambassadors  could 
not  complain  if  a  change  were  made,  for  most  of  their  correspond- 
ence was  carried  on  by  special  messengers.2  The  "  Strangers' 
Post"  seems  to  have  come  to  an  end  after  the  Proclamation  of  1591 
was  issued,  forbidding  any  but  the  Royal  Posts  from  carrying  letters 
to  and  from  foreign  countries.3 

Sir  Brian  Tuke  died  in  1545  and  was  succeeded  by  Sir  John 
Mason  and  Mr.  Paget,  who  acted  as  joint  Postmasters-General. 
Mr.  Paget  was  the  sleeping  partner,  and  what  little  was  done  was 
by  Mason.4  They  were  succeeded  in  1568  by  Thomas  Randolph.5 
He  was  occasionally  sent  as  special  ambassador  to  France  and  dur- 
ing his  absence  Gascoyne,  a  former  court  post,  performed  his  duties. 
From  Sir  Brian's  death  until  the  end  of  Elizabeth's  reign  was  a 
period  of  little  advance  in  postal  matters.  The  regular  posts,  and  it 

1  Stow,  London,  1720,  bk.  v,  p.  401.   Col.  S.  P.  D.,  1547-80,  pp.  312,  321,  432. 
There  was  considerable  rivalry  between  them  concerning  those  nominated  for 
Postmaster-General.  See  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1547-80,  pp.  312,  314. 

2  Stow,  London,  bk.  v,  p.  401.  8  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  xiv,  app.,  p.  36  (14). 
4  A.  P.  C.,  1542-47,  P-  267;  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  xiv,  app.,  p.  21  (8). 

6  Ibid.,  1844,  xiv,  app.,  p.  21  (n). 


i 


8          THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

is  with  them  that  our  chief  interest  lies,  appear  to  have  fallen  into 
disuse.  The  payments  for  special  messengers  are  much  larger  than 
they  had  been  during  Henry's  reign.  In  1 549,  a  warrant  was  issued 
empowering  Sir  John  Mason  to  pay  £400  to  the  special  messengers 
used  during  the  summer.  If  anything  was  left,  he  was  instructed  to 
use  it  in  paying  arrears  due  the  ordinary  posts.1  Elizabeth  is  gen- 
erally credited  with  being  economical  to  the  extreme  of  parsimony 
so  far  as  state  expenses  were  concerned.  However  this  may  be,  she 
is  responsible  for  an  order  to  discharge  all  the  regular  posts  unless 
they  would  serve  for  half  of  their  old  wages.2  The  postmen  did  not 
receive  their  wages  at  all  regularly.  Randolph  was  accused  by  the 
Governor  of  Berwick  of  withholding  all  of  their  first  year's  wages, 
of  'receiving  every  year  thereafter  a  percentage  of  their  salaries, 
and  of  demanding  certain  fees  from  them,  all  for  his  personal  use. 
The  Governor  considered  that  Randolph's  extortions  were  largely 
the  cause  of  the  general  inefficiency  in  the  posts,3  but  the  accusation 
may  have  been  due  to  personal  grudge.  At  any  rate  one  measure  of 
postal  reform  may  be  credited  to  Randolph.  In  1582,  orders  were 
issued  to  all  the  London-Berwick  posts  to  the  following  effect. 
Every  post  on  the  arrival  of  letters  to  or  from  the  Queen  or  Council 
was  to  fasten  a  label  to  the  packet.  On  this  label  he  was  to  write 
the  day  and  hour  when  the  packet  came  into  his  hands  and  he  was 
to  make  the  same  entry  in  a  book  kept  for  the  purpose.  He  was 
also  to  keep  two  or  three  good  horses  in  his  stable  for  the  speedier 
conveyance  of  such  packets.4 

In  1590,  John  Lord  Stanhope  was  appointed  Postmaster-General 
by  order  of  the  Queen.  The  office  was  given  to  him  for  his  life  and 
then  was  to  go  to  his  son  for  his  son's  life.5  Both  the  Stanhopes  were 
men  of  action,  but  they  looked  upon  their  position  rather  as  a 
means  of  enriching  themselves  than  as  a  trust  for  the  good  of  the 
state.  They  proved  a  stumbling  block  to  the  advancement  of  better 
men  and  it  was  not  for  sixty  years  that  they  were  finally  swept 
away  to  make  room  for  men  of  greater  ability.  In  1621,  the  elder 
Stanhope  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Charles  according  to  the  terms 

1  A.  P.  C.,  1547-50,  p.  360.  2  Col.  S.  P.  D.,  1547-80,  p.  306. 

»  Col.  B.  P.,  1560-94,  p.  299.  *  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  Add.,  1580-1625,  pp.  75-76. 

6  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1581-90,  p.  676;  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  xiv,  app.,  p.  22  U3)- 


THE  ESTABLISHMENT  SUPPORTED  BY  THE  STATE     9 

of  the  original  patent.1  It  had  been  the  custom  for  the  Postmasters- 
General  to  demand  fees  and  percentages  from  their  appointees.  So 
lucrative  were  many  of  their  positions  from  the  monopoly  in  letting 
horses  and  the  receipts  from  private  letters  that  many  applicants 
were  willing  to  pay  for  appointments  as  deputy  postmasters.  The 
ordinary  payments  when  Lord  Charles  was  at  the  head  of  the  posts 
amounted  to  25.  in  the  pound  as  poundage  and  a  fee  of  £2  from 
each  man.  These  payments  were  considered  so  exorbitant  that  the 
Council  ordered  them  to  be  reduced.2  One,  Hutchins,  entered  the 
lists  as  the  champion  of  the  postmasters.  He  himself  was  one  of 
them  and  acted  as  their  solicitor  in  the  contest.  Stanhope  was  glad 
to  compound  the  case  by  the  payment  of  £30.  Hutchins  gave  the 
Council  so  much  trouble  that  they  gave  orders  that  "  turbulent 
Hutchins"  should  cease  to  act  as  the'postmasters'  solicitor  and 
leave  them  in  peace.3  His  object,  however,  seems  to  have  been 
accomplished  so  far  as  Stanhope  was  concerned.  The  struggle 
with  the  Paymasters  of  the  Posts  was  not  so  successful,  for,  sup- 
ported by  a  report  of  the  Treasurer,  they  continued  to  receive  their 
shilling  in  the  pound.4 

By  a  Privy  Council  Proclamation  issued  in  1603,  all  posts  re- 
ceiving a  daily  fee  were  required  to  have  two  leather  bags,  lined 
with  "  bayes  "  or  cotton,  and  the  post  himself  was  to  sound  a  horn 
whenever  he  met  any  one  on  the  road  or  four  times  in  every  mile. 
The  packet  of  letters  was  not  to  be  delayed  more  than  fifteen  min- 
utes and  was  to  be  carried  at  a  rate  of  seven  miles  an  hour  in  sum- 
mer and  five  in  winter.  The  time  at  which  it  was  delivered  into  a 
post's  hands  and  the  names  and  addresses  of  the  people  by  whom 
and  to  whom  it  was  sent  were  to  be  entered  in  a  book  kept  for  the 
purpose.  All  posts  and  their  servants  were  exempted  from  being 
"pressed"  and  from  attendance  at  assizes,  sessions,  inquests,  and 
musters.6 

It  is  doubtful  how  far  the  postmasters  were  held  responsible  for 
the  delivery  of  letters  to  the  persons  to  whom  they  were  addressed. 

1  Cat.  S.  P.  D.,  1619-23,  pp.  238, 404. 

1  Ibid.,  pp.  568,  572.  A  postmaster's  salary  at  this  time  was  about  5$.  a  day.  (Ibid., 
1623-25,  p.  130.) 

*  Ibid.,  1623-25,  pp.  117,  130,  153.  «  Ibid.,  1619-23,  pp.  567-68. 

B  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  xiv,  app.,  p.  38  (18). 


10        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

This  did  not  become  a  burning  question,  however,  until  after  the 
recognition  of  the  fact  that  the  letters  of  private  individuals  should 
receive  as  good  treatment  at  the  hands  of  the  postmen  as  the  letters 
of  the  state  officials.  Lord  Stanhope  in  1618  issued  an  order  to  the 
Justices  of  the  Peace  in  Southwark  to  aid  the  postmaster  of  that 
place  in  the  delivery  of  letters  within  six  miles.1  This  was  followed 
two  years  later  by  a  general  order  to  establish  two  or  three  foot- 
posts  in  every  parish  for  the  conveyance  of  letters.2 

During  the  early  part  of  the  seventeenth  century,  Stanhope  had 
employed  a  foreigner,  de  Quester,  as  one  of  the  King's  posts  "be- 
yond seas."  He  commended  himself  to  the  notice  of  his  superiors  by 
his  promptitude  in  dealing  with  the  foreign  letters.3  In  1619  James 
appointed  him  Postmaster- General  for  " foreign  parts"  and  hence- 
forth he  was  his  own  master.4  This  was  followed  four  years  later 
by  a  formal  proclamation,  confirming  to  de  Quester  and  his  son  the 
position  already  granted  to  the  father.5  He  was  to  have  the  sole 
monopoly  of  carrying  foreign  letters  and  was  to  appoint  the  neces- 
sary officials.  All  persons  were  formally  prohibited  from  entrench- 
ing upon  the  privileges  granted  him  in  1619.  From  this  time  until 
1635,  the  foreign  and  inland  posts  were  under  separate  management 
and  the  accounts  were  kept  separate  until  long  after  the  latter  date. 
Stanhope  was  unwilling  to  submit  to  the  curtailment  of  his  profits, 
which  necessarily  followed  the  appointment  of  de  Quester.  There 
was  much  to  be  said  for  Stanhope's  contention  that  the  patent  of 
1623  was  illegal  for,  ever  since  there  had  been  a  Postmaster- Gen- 
eral, his  duties  had  extended  to  the  foreign  as  well  as  to  the  inland 
office.  The  question  was  referred  to  a  committee,  composed  of  the 
Lord  Chamberlain,  one  of  the  Secretaries  of  State  and  the  Attor- 
ney-General, who  decided  that  Stanhope's  patent  extended  only  to 
the  inland  office.6  The  whole  question  was  finally  brought  before 
the  Court  of  King's  Bench,  which  decided  the  case  in  favour  of 
Stanhope.7  This  was  in  1625,  but  de  Quester  seems  to  have  paid  no 
attention  to  the  decision  for  it  is  certain  that  he  continued  to  act  as 

1  Cat.  S.  P.  D.,  1611-18,  p.  601.   2  Hist.  MSS.  Com.,  Rep.  15,  app.,  pt.  7,  p.  63. 

8  Col.  S.  P.  D.,  1603-10,  pp.  162,  397,  426,  491,  512,  521,  545,  576,  583,  588,  611. 

4  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  xiv,  app.,  p.  45  (23). 

5  Ibid.,  1844,  xiv,  app.,  p.  45  (23).       6  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1623-25,  p.  131. 
7  Ibid.,  1625-26,  p.  30;  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  xiv,  app.,  p.  48  (25). 


THE  ESTABLISHMENT  SUPPORTED  BY  THE  STATE     II 

Foreign  Postmaster  until  1629*  and  in  1632  he  resigned  his  patent 
to  Frizell  and  Witherings.  It  can  be  imagined  what  must  have  been 
the  chaotic  condition  of  the  foreign  post  while  this  struggle  was  go- 
ing on.  The  Merchant  Adventurers  established  posts  of  their  own 
between  London  and  the  Continent  under  Billingsley.  The  Council 
issued  the  most  perplexing  orders.  First  they  forbade  Billingsley 
from  having  anything  to  do  with  foreign  letters.2  Then  they  de- 
cided that  the  Adventurers  might  establish  posts  of  their  own  and 
choose  a  Postmaster.3  Then  they  extended  the  same  privilege  to 
all  merchants.  Next  this  was  withdrawn  and  the  Adventurers  were 
allowed  to  send  letters  only  to  Antwerp,  Delft  and  Hamburg  or 
wherever  the  staple  of  cloth  might  be.4  These  orders  do  not  seem 
to  have  been  passed  in  full  council  for,  in  1628,  Secretary  Coke  in 
writing  to  Secretary  Conway  said  that  "  Billingsley,  a  broker  by 
trade,  strives  to  draw  over  to  the  merchants  that  power  over 
foreign  letters  which  in  all  states  is  a  branch  of  royal  authority. 
The  merchant's  purse  has  swayed  much  in  other  matters  but  he 
has  never  heard  that  it  encroached  upon  the  King's  prerogative 
until  now."  He  adds  "I  confess  it  troubleth  me  to  see  the  audac- 
ity of  men  in  these  times  and  especially  that  Billingsley."  He  en- 
closed a  copy  of  an  order  "made  at  a  full  Council  and  under  the 
Broad  Seal,"  which  in  effect  was  a  supersedeas  of  the  place  which 
de  Quester  enjoyed.5  When  de  Quester  resigned  in  favour  of  Frizell 
and  Witherings,  the  resignation  and  new  appointments  were  con- 
firmed by  the  King.6  Of  these  men  Witherings  was  far  the  abler. 
He  had  a  plan  in  view,  which  was  eventually  to  place  the  foreign 
and  inland  systems  on  a  basis  unchanged  until  the  time  of  penny 
postage.  In  the  meantime  he  had  to  overcome  the  prejudices  of 
the  King  and  get  rid  of  Frizell.  In  order  to  raise  money  for  the 
promotion  of  his  plan,  Witherings  mortgaged  his  place.  Capital 
was  obtained  from  the  Earl  of  Arundel  and  others  through  John 
Hall,  who  held  the  mortgage.  The  King  heard  of  this  and  ordered 

1  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1629-31,  pp.  71,  247.  *  Ibid.,  1625-26,  p.  231. 

8  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  *iv,  app.,  p.  48  (26). 

4  Ibid.,  1844,  xiv,app.,  p.  49  (27);  Cal.  S.  P.D.,  1625-26, p.  478;  Hist.  MSS.  Com., 
Rep.  12,  app.  i,  p.  295;  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1627-28,  p.  405. 

5  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1627-28,  pp.  436,  591. 

6  Ibid.,  1625-49,  p.  332;  1628-29,  pp.  46,  427,  558;  1631-33,  p.  384. 


12        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

the  office  to  be  sequestered  to  his  old  servant  de  Quester  and  com- 
manded Hall  to  make  over  his  interest  to  the  same  person.1  There 
were  now  three  claimants  for  the  place,  Frizell,  Witherings,  and 
de  Quester.  Frizell  rushed  off  to  Court,  where  he  offered  to  pay  off 
his  part  of  the  mortgage  and  asked  to  have  sole  charge  of  the  For- 
eign Post.  "  Witherings, "  he  said,  "  proposes  to  take  charge  of  all 
packets  of  State  if  he  may  have  the  office,  but  being  a  home-bred 
shopkeeper,  without  languages,  tainted  of  delinquency  and  in  dis- 
like with  the  foreign  correspondents,  he  is  no  fit  person  to  carry  a 
trust  of  such  secrecy  and  importance." 2  Coke  knew  better  than 
this,  however,  and  through  his  influence  Witherings,  who  had  in 
the  meantime  paid  off  the  mortgage  and  satisfied  Frizell's  interest, 
was  made  sole  Postmaster- General  for  Foreign  Parts.3 

With  Witherings'  advent  a  new  period  of  English  postal  history 
begins.  His  dominant  idea  was  to  make  the  posts  self-supporting 
and  no  longer  a  charge  to  the  state.  It  had  been  established  as  a 
service  for  the  royal  household  and  continued  as  an  official  neces- 
sity. The  letters  of  private  individuals  had  been  carried  by  its 
messengers  but  the  state  had  derived  no  revenue  for  their  convey- 
ance. The  convenient  activity  of  other  agencies  for  the  carriage 
of  private  letters  was  not  only  tolerated  but  officially  recognized. 
The  change  to  a  revenue-paying  basis  tended  naturally  to  empha- 
size the  monopolistic  character  of  the  government  service.4 

1  Cat.  S.  P.  D.,  1634-35,  pp.  ii,  38,  48,  389.  a  Ibid.,  1625-49,  p.  489. 

1  Ibid.,  1635-36,  p.  32;  1634-35,  p.  48.  4  See  chapter  ix. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  POSTAL  ESTABLISHMENT  A  SOURCE  OF  REVENUE  TO  THE  STATE 

1633-1711 

FOR  some  time  there  had  been  dissatisfaction  with  the  services 
rendered  by  the  inland  posts.  It  was  said  that  letters  would  arrive 
sooner  from  Spain  and  Italy  than  from  remote  parts  of  the  king- 
dom of  England.1  The  only  alternative  was  to  send  them  by  ex- 
press and  this  was  not  only  expensive  but  was  not  looked  upon  with 
favour  by  the  Postmaster- General.  The  five  great  roads  from  Lon- 
don to  Edinburgh,  Holyhead,  Bristol,  Plymouth,  and  Dover  were 
in  operation.  From  the  Edinburgh  Road  there  were  branches  to 
York  and  Carlisle,  from  the  Dover  Road  to  Margate,  Gravesend, 
and  Sandwich,  and  from  the  Plymouth  Road  to  Falmouth,  but  the 
posts  were  slow  and  the  rates  for  private  letters  uncertain.2  In 
1633,  a  project  was  advanced  for  the  new  arrangement  of  the  Post 
Office.  The  plan  was  not  entirely  theoretical,  for  an  attempt  was 
made  to  show  that  it  would  prove  a  financial  success.  There  were 
about  512  market  towns  in  England.  It  was  considered  that  each 
of  these  would  send  50  letters  a  week  to  London  and  as  many  an- 
swers would  be  returned.  At  4^.  a  day  for  each  letter,  this  would 
amount  to  £426  a  week.  The  charge  for  conveyance  was  estimated 
at  £37  a  week,  leaving  a  weekly  profit  of  £389,  from  which  £1500  a 
year  for  the  conveyance  of  state  letters  and  despatches  must  be 
deducted.  Letters  on  the  northern  road  were  to  pay  id.  for  a  single 
and  ^d.  for  a  double  letter,  to  Yorkshire  and  Northumberland  3^., 
and  to  Scotland  Sd.  a  letter.  The  postmasters  in  the  country  were 
not  to  take  any  charge  for  a  letter  except  one  penny  for  carriage 
to  the  next  market  town.3  It  is  probable  that  this  project  originated 
with  Witherings.  At  any  rate  it  resembles  closely  the  plan  which 

1  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1580-1625,  p.  360.  2  Ibid.,  1580-1625,  p.  630. 

8  Ibid.,  1625-26,  p.  366.  A  single  letter  consisted  of  one  sheet  of  paper,  a  double 
letter  of  two,  and  a  triple  letter  of  three  sheets. 


14        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

was  introduced  by  him  two  years  later.  He  had  already  reformed 
the  foreign  post  by  appointing  "stafetti"  from  London  to  Dover 
and  through  France  and  they  had  proved  so  efficient  as  to  disarm 
the  opposition  even  of  the  London  merchants.  His  name  is  without 
doubt  the  most  distinguished  in  the  annals  of  the  British  Post 
Office.  Convinced  that  the  carriage  of  private  letters  must  be 
placed  upon  a  secure  footing,  he  laid  the  foundation  for  the  system 
of  postal  rates  and  regulations,  which  continued  to  the  time  of 
national  penny  postage.  He  introduced  the  first  legal  provision 
for  the  carriage  of  private  letters  at  fixed  rates,  greatly  increased 
the  speed  of  the  posts,  and  above  all  made  the  Post  Office  a  finan- 
cial success.  In  order  to  do  this  he  saw  that  the  proceeds  from 
private  letters  must  go  to  the  state  and  not  to  the  deputy  post- 
masters. 

His  plan  was  entitled  "A  proposition  for  settling  of  Stafetti  or 
pacquet  posts  betwixt  London  and  all  parts  of  His  Majesty's  Do- 
minions. The  profits  to  go  to  pay  the  postmasters,  who  now  are 
paid  by  His  Majesty  at  a  cost  of  £3400  per  annum."  A  general 
office  or  counting  house  was  to  be  established  in  London  for  the 
reception  of  all  letters  coming  to  or  leaving  the  capital.  Letters 
leaving  London  on  each  of  the  great  roads  were  to  be  enclosed  in  a 
leather  "portmantle"  and  left  at  the  post-towns  on  the  way.  Let- 
ters for  any  of  the  towns  off  the  great  roads  were  to  be  placed  in 
smaller  leather  bags  to  be  carried  in  the  large  portmantle.  These 
leather  bags  were  to  be  left  at  the  post-towns  nearest  the  country 
towns  to  which  they  were  directed.  They  were  then  to  be  carried 
to  their  destination  by  foot-posts  to  a  distance  of  six  or  eight  miles 
and  for  each  letter  these  foot-posts  were  to  charge  2d.,  the  same 
price  that  was  charged  by  the  country  carriers.  At  the  same  tune 
that  the  foot-posts  delivered  their  letters,  they  were  to  collect  let- 
ters to  be  sent  to  London  and  carry  them  back  to  the  post-town 
from  which  they  had  started  and  there  meet  the  portmantle  on 
its  way  back  from  Edinburgh  or  Bristol  or  wherever  the  terminus 
of  the  road  might  be.  The  speed  of  the  posts  was  to  be  at  least  120 
miles  in  twenty-four  hours  and  they  were  to  travel  day  and  night. 
He  concludes  his  proposition  by  saying  that  no  harm  would  result 
to  Stanhope  by  his  plan  "  for  neither  Lord  Stanhope  nor  anie 


THE  ESTABLISHMENT  A   SOURCE  OF  REVENUE      15 

other,  that  ever  enjoyed  the  Postmaster's  place  of  England,  had 
any  benefit  of  the  carrying  and  re-carrying  of  the  subjects'  let- 
ters."1 

The  question  now  was,  Who  was  to  see  that  these  reforms  were 
carried  out?  Stanhope  was  not  the  man  for  so  important  and  re- 
volutionary an  undertaking.  Witherings  alone,  the  author  of  the 
proposition,  should  carry  it  into  effect.  Sir  John  Coke  made  no 
mistake  in  constituting  himself  the  friend  of  the  postal  reformer. 
Witherings  was  already  Foreign  Postmaster- General  and  in  1635 
he  was  charged  with  the  reformation  of  the  inland  office  on  the  basis 
of  his  projected  scheme.  In  1637  the  inland  and  foreign  offices  were 
again  united  when  he  was  made  Foreign  and  Inland  Postmaster- 
General.2  His  experiment  was  tried  on  the  Northern  Road  first 
and  was  exceedingly  successful.  Letters  were  sent  to  Edinburgh 
and  answers  returned  in  six  days.  On  the  Northern  Road 
bye-posts  were  established  to  Lincoln,  Hull  and  other  places.3 
Orders  were  given  to  extend  the  same  arrangement  to  the  other 
great  roads,  and  by  1636  his  reform  was  in  full  and  profitable 
operation. 

Witherings  still  continued  to  sell  the  positions  of  the  postmasters, 
if  we  are  to  trust  the  complaints  of  non-successful  applicants.  One 
man  said  that  he  offered  £100  for  a  position  but  Witherings  sold 
it  to  another  for  £40. 4  The  Postmaster  at  Ferrybridge  asserted 
that  he  had  paid  Stanhope  £200  and  Witherings  £35  and  yet 
now  fears  that  he  will  be  ousted.  Complaints  of  a  reduction  in 
wages  were  also  made,  and  this  was  a  serious  matter,  since  the  post- 
masters no  longer  obtained  anything  from  private  letters.5  The 
old  complaint,  however,  of  failure  to  pay  wages  at  all  is  not  heard 
under  Witherings'  administration.  He  was  punctual  in  his  pay- 
ments and  held  his  employees  to  equally  rigid  account.  Their 
arrears  were  not  excused.6  An  absentee  postmaster,  who  hired 

1  Rep.  Com.)  xiv,  app.,  p.  55  (35).    Cat:  S.  P.  D.,  1635,  p.  166.  Letters  were 
to  be  carried  to  and  from  important  places  at  some  distance  from  the  main  roads 
by  post-horses.    See  Col.  S.  P.  D.,  above. 

2  Rep.  Com.,  xiv,  p.  5;  app.,  p.  57  (36);  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1635-36,  p.  32. 

3  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1635,  p.  299. 

4  Ibid.,  1637,  p.  527;  ibid.,  1636-37,  p.  524. 

1 6  Ibid.,  1638-39,  p.  119.  ^  «  Ibid.,  1637-38,  pp.  52,  53,  394. 


1 6        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

deputies  to  perform  his  duties,  was  dismissed.1  His  ambition  to 
establish  a  self-supporting  postal  system  demanded  rigid  economy 
and  strict  administration,  and  with  the  then  prevailing  laxity  of 
administrative  methods,  this  was  no  mean  achievement.  From 
one  occasional  practice  of  the  Post  Office,  that  of  tampering  with 
private  letters,  he  cannot  perhaps  wholly  be  absolved.  It  is  hinted 
that  he  may  have  been  guilty  of  opening  letters,  but  the  suggestion 
follows  that  this  may  have  happened  before  they  reached  England, 
for  the  letters  so  opened  were  from  abroad.2 

In  June  of  1637,  Coke  and  Windebank,  the  two  Secretaries  of 
State,  were  appointed  Postmasters-General  for  their  lives.  The 
surviving  one  was  to  surrender  his  office  to  the  King,  who  would 
then  grant  it  to  the  Secretaries  for  the  time  being.3  It  does  not 
appear  that  Witherings  was  altogether  dismissed  from  the  serv- 
ice, for  his  name  continued  to  appear  in  connection  with  postal 
affairs.4  Windebank  later  urged  as  reasons  for  the  withdrawal  of 
Witherings'  patent,  that  he  was  not  a  sworn  officer,  that  there  was  a 
suspicion  that  his  patent  had  been  obtained  surreptitiously,  and  that 
the  continental  postmasters  disdained  to  correspond  with  a  man 
of  his  low  birth.  He  concludes  by  saying  that  something  may  be 
given  him,  but  that  he  is  said  to  be  worth  £800  a  year  in  land  and  to 
have  enriched  himself  from  his  position.6  At  the  time  of  his  re- 
moval, in  June,  1637,  the  London  merchants  petitioned  for  his  con- 
tinuance in  office,  as  he  had  always  given  them  satisfaction.  When 
they  heard  who  had  been  appointed  in  his  stead,  like  loyal  and  fear- 
ful subjects,  they  hastened  to  add  that  they  thought  someone  else 
was  trying  for  the  position  but  they  had  no  doubt  that  it  would  be 
managed  best  by  the  Secretaries.6  If  they  thought  so  they  were 
mistaken,  for  the  commander  of  the  English  army  against  Scotland 
found  that  his  letters  were  opened,7  the  Lord  High  Admiral  com- 
plained that  his  were  delayed,8  and  Windebank  promised  an  un- 

Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1637-38,  p.  238. 

Ibid .,  1640-41,  p.  340.    As  early  as  1639  persons  were  not  allowed  to  have  letters 
back  when  once  posted.   (Ibid.,  1639,  p.  279.) 
Ibid.,  1637,  p.  255. 

Ibid.,  1639,  p.  279;  Rep.  Com.,  xiv,  app.,  p.  58  (37). 
Cat.  S.  P.  D.,  1637-38,  p.  51.  6  Ibid.,  1637-38,  p.  52. 

Ibid.,  1639,  P-  295-  8  Ibid->  1639-40,  p.  116. 


THE  ESTABLISHMENT  A   SOURCE  OF  REVENUE        IJ 

known  correspondent  that  the  delay  in  his  letters  should  be  seen 
to  at  once  and  Witherings  was  the  agent  chosen  for  the  investiga- 
tion.1 This,  however,  was  not  the  worst,  for  only  a  month  after 
Witherings  had  been  degraded,  orders  were  issued  to  the  post- 
masters that  no  packets  or  letters  were  to  be  sent  by  post  but  such 
as  should  be  directed  "For  His  Majesty's  Special  Affairs"  and 
were  subscribed  by  certain  officials  connected  with  the  Govern- 
ment.2 It  is  fair  to  add  that  this  check  on  private  correspondence 
may  have  been  a  protective  measure  induced  by  the  unsettled  state 
ofjhe  kingdom. 

In  1640  both  the  inland  and  foreign  offices  were  sequestered  into 
the  hands  of  Philip  Burlamachi,  a  wealthy  London  merchant  who 
had  lent  money  to  the  king.  No  reasons  were  given  except  that 
information  had  been  received  "  of  divers  abuses  and  misdemean- 
ours committed  by  Thomas  Witherings." 3  Stanhope,  who  had  re- 
signed his  patent  in  1637,  now  came  forward  claiming  that  his  resig- 
nation had  been  unfairly  obtained  by  the  Council,  and  at  the  same 
time  he  presented  his  bill  for  £1266,  the  arrears  in  his  salary  for 
nineteen  years.4  In  reply  to  his  demand  it  was  said  that  shortly  be- 
fore he  resigned  he  had  assigned  his  rights  in  the  Post  Office  to  the 
Porters,  father  and  son.  The  Attorney-General  gave  his  opinion  that 
whatever  rights  Stanhope  and  the  Porters  had,  they  certainly  had 
no  claim  to  the  proceeds  from  the  carriage  of  private  letters.5  Stan- 
hope had  offered  to  enter  an  appearance  in  a  suit  brought  against 
him  by  the  Porters  but  now  he  refused  to  do  so.6  Windebank  was 
also  looking  out  for  money  due  to  him  while  Coke  and  he  were  Post- 
masters-General.7  The  state  had  indeed  entered  upon  troublous 
times  and  it  was  every  man  for  himself  before  it  was  too  late. 

As  long  as  Witherings  had  enjoyed  the  King's  favour,  the  House 
of  Commons  had  looked  upon  him  with  suspicion.  They  had  or- 
dered in  1640  "  that  a  Sub-Committee  of  the  Committee  of  Griev- 
ances should  be  made  a  House  Committee  to  consider  abuses  in  the 

1  Hist.  MSS.  Com.,  Rep.  12,  app.,  pt.  2,  p.  236. 

2  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1637,  p.  338.  8  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  xiv,  app.,  p.  59  (39). 

4  Ibid.,  1844,  xiv,  app.,  p.  22  (19);  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1636-37,  p.  534;  ibid.,  1637-38, 
P-  Si. 

5  Ibid.,  1636-37,  p.  530.  6  Hist.  MSS.  Com.,  Rep.  7,  p.  154- 
7  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1640-41,  p.  315. 


1 8        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

inland  posts,  to  take  into  consideration  the  rates  for  letters  and 
packets  together  with  the  abuses  of  Witherings  and  the  rest  of  the 
postmasters." 1  As  soon  as  Witherings  was  finally  dismissed,  the 
Commons  took  him  up  and  resolutions  were  passed  that  the  seques- 
tration was  illegal  and  ought  to  be  repealed,  that  the  proclamation 
for  ousting  him  from  his  position  ought  not  to  be  put  into  execution, 
and  that  he  ought  to  be  restored  to  his  old  position  and  be  paid  the 
mean  profits  which  had  been  received  since  his  nominal  dismissal.2 
Protected  by  the  authority  of  the  House  of  Commons,  Witherings 
continued  to  act  as  Postmaster-General.3  Windebank,  in  Paris,  was 
trying  to  collect  evidence  against  him  through  Frizell,  who,  he  said, 
had  been  forced  out  of  his  position  by  Witherings  and  Coke.4  Coke 
himself  was  in  disgrace  and  could  do  nothing.  Parliament  was 
now  supreme.  Witherings  was  ordered  to  send  to  a  Committee  of 
the  Lords,  acting  with  Sir  Henry  Vane,  all  letters  coming  into  or 
going  out  of  the  kingdom  for  examination  and  search.  Frequent 
orders  to  the  same  effect  followed  during  the  turbulent  summer 
and  autumn  of  i64i.5  Among  other  letters  opened  were  those  of 
the  Venetian  Ambassador  in  England.  He  was  so  indignant  that  a 
Committee  of  the  Lords  was  sent  to  him  to  ask  his  pardon.6  The 
two  Houses  of  Parliament  united  in  condemning  the  sequestration 
to  Burlamachi,  but  Witherings,  who  had  become  tired  of  the  strife, 
assigned  his  position  to  the  Earl  of  Warwick.7  The  Earl  was  sup- 
ported by  both  Houses,  but  the  Lower  House  played  a  double  part, 
for,  while  openly  supporting  Warwick,  they  now  secretly  favoured 
Burlamachi,  who  had  found  an  influential  friend  in  Edmund  Pri- 
deaux,  former  chairman  of  the  committee  appointed  to  investigate 
the  condition  of  the  posts  and  later  Attorney-General  under  the 
Commonwealth.8  Prideaux  was  a  strong  Parliamentarian,  but  was 
distrusted  even  by  his  own  friends.  But  for  the  time  being,  as  the 
representative  of  the  Commons,  he  was  supported  by  them.  The 

1  Jo.  H.  C.,  1640-42,  p.  81. 

2  Col.  S.  P.  D.,  1640-41,  p.  453;  Jo.  H.  C.,  ii,  p.  500;  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  xiv,  app., 
p.  60  (40). 

1  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1640-41,  p.  557.        4  Ibid.,  1640-41,  p.  536. 

6  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  xiv,  app.,  p.  101  (74).  6  Ibid.,  1844,  xiv,  app.,  p.  101  (74). 

7  Jo.  H.  C.,  1640-42,  p.  722;  Jo.  H.  L.,  1642-43,  p.  343. 

8  Jo.  H.  C.,  1640-42,  p.  500. 


THE  ESTABLISHMENT  A   SOURCE  OF  REVENUE       19 

messenger  of  the  Upper  House  made  oath  that  he  had  delivered  the 
Commons'  resolution  to  Burlamachi,  commanding  him  to  hand 
over  the  Inland  Letter  Office  to  Warwick,  but  James  Hicks  had 
presented  an  order  at  the  place  appointed  by  Warwick  for  receiving 
letters,  to  deliver  all  letters  to  Prideaux.  Burlamachi  on  being  sum- 
moned before  the  Lords  for  contempt  said  that  Prideaux  had  hired 
his  house  and  now  had  charge  of  the  mails.  The  fight  went  merrily 
on.  Two  servants  of  Warwick  seized  the  Holyhead  letters  from 
Hicks,  but  were  in  turn  stopped  by  five  troopers,  agents  of  Pri- 
deaux, who  took  the  letters  from  them  by  order  of  the  House  of 
Commons.  >Prideaux  also  seized  the  Chester  and  Plymouth  let- 
ters, one  of  his  servants  calling  out  "  that  an  order  of  the  House 
of  Commons  ought  to  be  obeyed  before  an  order  of  the  House  of 
Lords." 1  Hicks,  who  had  been  arrested  by  order  of  the  Lords,  was 
liberated  by  the  Commons  as  a  servant  of  a  member  of  Parliament.2 
As  between  Lords  and  Commons,  there  could  be  no  doubt  as  to 
which  side  would  carry  the  day,  and  by  the  end  of  1642  the  Lower 
House  was  triumphant  all  along  the  line.  Understanding  that  dis- 
cretion was  the  better  part  of  valour,  the  Lords  freed  Burlamachi 
and  dropped  the  contest.  Warwick  now  petitioned  the  Lords  again, 
setting  forth  that  he  was  the  legal  successor  and  assignee  of  With- 
erings.  Stanhope  put  in  a  counter-petition  to  the  effect  that  With- 
erings  never  had  any  right  to  the  position  which  Warwick  now 
claimed.  The  House  of  Lords  felt  its  own  weakness  too  much  to 
interfere  directly,  but  ordered  the  whole  matter  to  trial.3  Besides 
Stanhope  and  Warwick,  the  following  put  in  claims  before  the 
Council  of  State:  Henry  Robinson,  through  the  Porters,  to  whom 
Stanhope  had  assigned;  Sir  David  Watkins  in  trust  for  Thomas 
Witherings,  Jr.,  for  the  foreign  office;  Moore  and  Jessop  through 
Watkins  and  Walter  Warde.  Billingsley  also,  the  old  Postmaster 
of  the  Merchant  Adventurers,  made  a  claim  for  the  foreign  office.4 

1  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  xiv,  app.,  p.  10  (40);  Jo.  H.  C.,  1642-43,  pp.  387,  388,  469,  470, 
471,  473-74,  508,  512;  ibid.,  1640-42,  p.  899. 

2  Ibid.,  1640-42,  p.  899. 

3  Col.  S.  P.  D.,  1645-47,  p.  461;  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  xiv,  app.,  p.  68  (43);  Jo.  H.  L., 
1645-46,  pp.  579,  588,  637. 

4  Col.  S.  P.  D.,  1652-53,  pp.  159,  367;  ibid.,  1653-54,  pp.  21,  22,  297;  Rep.  Corn., 
1844,  xiv,  app.,  p.  69  (44);  Jo.  H.  C.,  1651-59,  p.  192. 


20        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

The  confusion  in  postal  administration  which  naturally  resulted 
from  the  struggle  among  the  rival  claimants  was  increased  by  the 
Civil  War.  In  1643  the  Royal  Court  was  moved  to  Oxford.  The  Sec- 
retaries of  State  acting  as  Postmasters- General  sent  James  Hicks, 
the  quondam  servant  of  Prideaux,  to  collect  arrears  from  the  post- 
masters due  to  the  Letter  Office.  In  addition  to  collecting  the 
money  due,  he  was  to  require  all  postmasters  on  the  road  to  Cov- 
entry to  convey  to  and  from  the  Court  all  letters  and  packets  on 
His  Majesty's  service,  to  establish  new  stages,  to  forward  the  names 
of  those  willing  to  supply  horses  and  guides,  and  to  report  those 
postmasters  who  were  disobedient  or  disloyal.1  During  the  most 
desperate  period  of  the  royal  cause  Hicks  acted  as  special  messen- 
ger for  the  King,  and  apparently  had  some  exciting  experiences  in 
carrying  the  letters  of  his  royal  master.  He  lived  to  enjoy  his  re- 
ward when  the  second  Charles  had  come  to  his  own.  Parliament, 
in  the  meantime,  was  establishing  its  control  over  the  posts  and 
reorganizing  the  service.  In  the  early  period  of  Parliamentary 
government,  postal  affairs  were  as  a  rule  looked  after  by  what 
was  known  as  the  "Committee  of  Both  Kingdoms,"  and  the  orders 
which  it  issued  were  necessarily  based  upon  political  conditions. 
Later  the  Postmaster-General  acted  under  the  Council  of  State  or 
under  Cromwell  himself.  In  1644  the  House  of  Commons  issued  an 
order  that  protection  should  be  granted  to  the  postmasters  between 
London  and  Hull,  to  their  servants,  horses  and  goods.2  The  fact 
that  it  was  necessary  to  re-settle  posts  on  the  old  established  London- 
Berwick  road  shows  how  demoralized  conditions  had  been  during 
the  conflict.3  Many  of  the  loyal  postmasters  were  dismissed.  Their 
lukewarm  conduct  in  supplying  the  messengers  of  the  Common- 
wealth with  horses  produced  a  reprimand  from  the  Committee  and 
a  sharp  warning  from  Prideaux.4  Posts  were  settled  from  London 
to  Lyme  Regis  for  better  communication  with  the  southwest- 
ern counties.  In  1644  Edmund  Prideaux  was  formally  appointed 
Postmaster-General.5  He  was  allowed  to  use  as  his  office  part  of  the 

Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1641-43,  p.  501;  ibid.,  1644,  pp.  6,  29. 

Jo.  H.  C.,  1642-44,  p.  426. 

Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1644,  p.  400. 

Ibid.,  1644-45,  P-  503;  *bid>,  1644,  pp.  25, 144,  447. 

Jo.  H.  C.,  1642-44,  p.  477;  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  xiv,  app.,  p.  67  (41)- 


THE  ESTABLISHMENT  A  SOURCE  OF  REVENUE      21 

building  occupied  by  the  Committee  of  Accounts,  formerly  the 
house  of  a  London  alderman.1  As  long  as  the  war  continued  it  was 
necessary  that  a  close  watch  should  be  kept  over  letters  passing  by 
post.  Many  of  the  new  postmasters  were  military  men  and  in  addi- 
tion others  were  appointed  in  each  town  under  the  heading  of 
"persons  to  give  intelligence."2  With  the  return  of  normal  condi- 
tions after  1649  Prideaux  was  ordered  by  the  Council  of  State  to 
make  arrangements  for  establishing  posts  all  over  England  as  in  the 
peaceful  days  before  the  war.3  His  report  of  the  same  year  to  the 
Council  of  State  indicates  the  successful  fulfilment  of  his  instruc- 
tions. He  said  that  he  had  established  a  weekly  conveyance  of 
letters  to  all  parts  of  the  Commonwealth  and  that  with  the  receipts 
from  private  letters  he  had  paid  all  the  postmasters  except  those  on 
the  Dover  road.4 

For  the  safety  of  the  Commonwealth  it  was  often  found  necessary 
to  search  the  letters.  Sometimes  the  posts  were  stopped  and  all  the 
letters  examined.  When  this  was  done,  it  was  by  order  of  the  Coun- 
cil of  State,  which  appointed  certain  officials  to  go  through  the  cor- 
respondence.5 Sir  Kenelm  Digby,  writing  to  Lord  Conway  from 
Calais,  asks  him  to  direct  his  letters  to  that  place,  where  they  would 
find  him,  "if  no  curious  overseer  of  the  packets  at  the  post  break 
them  'open  for  the  superscription's  sake." 6  The  Commonwealth 
did  openly  and  is  consequently  blamed  for  what  had  been  done 
more  or  less  secretly  by  the  Royal  Government. 
:  In  1651  the  first  proposal  for  farming  the  Post  Office  was  sub- 
mitted to  the  Council  of  State.  The  Council  reported  the  question 
to  Parliament  but  there  is  no  evidence  as  to  their  attitude  on  the 
question  at  that  time.7  The  next  year  Parliament  ordered  that  the 
question  of  management,  whether  by  contract  or  otherwise,  should 
be  re-committed  to  the  Council,8  and  in  1653  Jt  was  decided  that  it 
would  be  better  to  let  the  posts  out  to  farm.  Prideaux  had  been 
quietly  dropped  by  the  Council  after  making,  as  it  was  reported,  a 

Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1644,  p.  477.  2  Ibid.,  1644-45,  P-  170. 

Ibid.,  1649-50,  pp.  13,  147.  *  Jo.  H.  C.,  1648-51,  p.  385. 

Ibid.t  1648-51,  p.  126;  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1649-50,  pp.  56,  533,  535,  54i;  1650,  pp.  7, 
22  ;  1651-52,  p.  216. 

Ibid.,  1649-50,  p.  381.  7  Ibid.,  1651-52. 

Ibid.,  1651-59,  p.  192. 


22        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

large  fortune.  When  we  remember  that  under  his  management 
there  was  an  annual  deficit  of  £600  besides  the  expenses  of  the 
Dover  road  and  that  in  1653  there  was  a  net  revenue  of  £10,000,  it 
seems  probable  that  there  is  some  truth  in  the  report.  The  condi- 
tions upon  which  the  Post  Office  was  farmed,  were  as  follows :  — 

The  farmers  must  be  men  of  stability  and  good  credit  and  must 
be  selected  from  those  contracting.  Official  letters  and  letters  from 
and  to  members  of  Parliament  must  be  carried  free.  All  postage 
rates  must  be  fixed  by  the  Council  and  not  changed  without  its 
consent.  Finally  all  postmasters  should  be  approved  by  the  Council 
and  Lord  Protector.1 

The  policy  of  the  Commonwealth  in  letting  the  posts  out  to  farm 
had  much  in  its  favour.  The  evil  usually  resulting  from  farming  is 
the  temptation  and  the  opportunity  it  offers  for  extortion  from  the 
people.  But  in  the  case  of  the  posts  no  oppression  was  possible,  for 
the  farmer  was  limited  in  his  charge  to  the  rate  fixed  by  the  Gov- 
ernment. More  than  this,  private  control  over  the  post  office  busi- 
ness afforded  what  was  most  needed  at  the  time,  greater  economy 
and  stricter  supervision  over  the  deputy  postmasters.  It  was  upon 
the  deputy  postmasters  alone  that  the  farming  system  might  exer- 
cise undue  pressure,  but  from  them  there  was  no  complaint  of  the 
withholding  or  reduction  of  wages  until  after  Cromwell's  death.2 

John  Manley  was  appointed  "  Farmer  of  the  Posts  "  for  two  years 
at  a  yearly  rent  of  £10,000.  There  were  at  least  four  higher  tenders 
than  his,  and  Manley  contracted  only  for  £8259.  It  was  hinted  that 
Manley  and  the  Council  had  come  to  a  private  agreement  concern- 
ing the  rent  to  be  paid.3  In  his  orders  to  the  postmasters,  Manley 

»  Col.  S.  P.  D.,  1652-53,  p.  449. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  contractors,  with  the  yearly  amounts  offered  by  each: 
Ben  Andrews  for  Inland  Office  £3600 

Ben  Andrews  for  Foreign  Office  3500 

Henry  Robinson  for  both  offices  8041 

Ben  Andrews  for  both  offices  9100 

John  Goldsmith  for  both  offices  8500 

Ralph  Kendall  for  both  offices  10103 

John  Manley,  with  good  security  8259 

Rich.  Hicks  9120 

Rich.  Hill  8160 

—  Col.  S.  P.  D.,  1652-53,  p.  450. 

•  Col.  S.  P.  D.,  1658-59,  p.  371.  »  Ibid.,  1653-54,  pp.  27,  328. 


•THE  ESTABLISHMENT  A   SOURCE  OF  REVENUE      23 

requested  them  to  take  particular  care  of  government  packets  and 
to  see  that  no  one  was  allowed  to  ride  in  post  unless  by  special 
warrant.  All  letters  should  be  counted  by  them  and  the  number 
certified  in  London.  They  were  to  keep  a  sharp  eye  upon  people, 
especially  travellers,  and  report  any  discontent  or  disaffection.1 
In  1654  Manley's  title  of  Postmaster-General  was  confirmed  by 
act  of  Parliament,  the  first  act  dealing  directly  with  postal  affairs.2 
He  was  unsuccessful  in  having  his  franchise  extended  beyond  the 
original  two  years,  and  by  order  of  the  Council  of  State  the  man- 
agement of  the  Posts  was  entrusted  to  Mr.  Thurloe,  Secretary  of 
State,  for  £10,000  a  year,  the  same  amount  which  Manley  had 
paid.3 

Shortly  after  Thurloe  had  been  appointed  Postmaster-General, 
general  orders  were  issued  by  Cromwell  to  all  the  postmasters.  He 
forbade  them  to  send  by  express  any  letters  or  packets  except  those 
sent  by  certain  officials  on  affairs  of  state,  all  others  to  await  the 
regular  time  for  the  departure  of  the  mails.  The  old  regulations  for 
providing  mail-bags,  registration  of  the  time  of  reception,  and  the 
like  were  repeated.  The  number  of  mails  to  and  from  London  was 
increased  from  one  to  three  a  week  each  way,  and  to  ensure  higher 
speed,  each  postmaster  was  to  provide  a  horse  ready  saddled  and 
was  not  to  detain  the  mail  longer  than  half  an  hour  under  any 
consideration.  He  was  ordered  to  deliver  all  letters  in  the  country 
at  or  near  his  stage  and  was  to  collect  the  postage  marked  on  the 
letter  unless  it  was  postpaid.  The  money  so  collected  was  to  be 
returned  to  London  every  three  months.4 

In  1657  the  first  act  of  Parliament  was  passed  which  fixed  rates  for 
the  conveyance  of  letters  and  established  the  system  for  the  British 
Islands.  The  preamble  stated : "  That  whereas  it  hath  been  found  by 
experience  that  the  writing  and  settling  of  one  General  Post  Office . . . 
is  the  best  means  not  only  to  maintain  certain  intercourse  of  trade 
and  commerce  betwixt  all  the  said  places  to  the  great  benefit  of  the 
people  of  these  nations,  but  also  to  convey  the  public  despatches 
and  to  discover  and  prevent  many  dangerous  and  wicked  designs, 

1  Col.  S.  P.  D.,  1653-54,  P-  328.         «  Scobell's  Collect.,  p.  358. 
1  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  *iv,  app.,  p.  71  (48);  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1655,  p.  138. 
4  Ibid.,  1655,  pp.  285  f. 


24        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

which  have  been  and  are  daily  continued  against  the  peace  and 
welfare  of  this  Commonwealth,"  it  is  enacted  that  there  shall  be  one 
General  Post  Office  called  the  Post  Office  of  England,  and  one  Post- 
master-General nominated  and  appointed  by  the  Protector  for 
life  or  for  a  term  of  years  not  exceeding  eleven.1  In  accordance 
with  the  terms  of  this  act,  Thurloe  was  appointed  by  Cromwell  and 
continued  to  act  as  Postmaster-General  until  the  downfall  of  the 
Commonwealth.2 

After  the  Restoration  most  of  the  old  claimants  to  the  Post 
Office  came  to  the  front  again.  Stanhope  besieged  King  and  Parlia- 
ment for  restoration  to  his  old  place.  He  seems  to  have  received 
some  compensation,  which  he  deserved  for  his  pertinacity  if  for 
nothing  else.  The  Porters  were  up  in  arms  at  once,  for  he  had  pro- 
mised them  to  come  to  no  agreement  until  they  were  satisfied.3 
The  two  daughters  of  Burlamachi  pleaded  for  some  mark  of  favour, 
on  the  ground  that  their  father  had  ruined  himself  for  the  late  King. 
Frizell  was  still  very  much  alive,  and  a  nephew  of  Witherings  carried 
on  the  family  feud.4  In  the  meantime  James  Hicks  was  employed 
by  the  Secretary  of  State  to  ascertain  how  many  of  the  old  deputy 
postmasters  were  still  eligible  for  positions.  He  reported  that  many 
of  them  were  dead  and  that  many  of  those  who  were  applying  for 
positions  had  been  enemies  of  the  King.  For  the  time  being  it  was 
decided  that  the  present  officials  should  remain  in  office  until  a 
settlement  should  be  made.5 

Henry  Bishop  was  appointed  by  royal  patent  Postmaster- 
General  of  England  for  seven  years  at  a  rent  of  £21,500  a  year.  The 
King  agreed  to  persuade  Parliament  to  pass  an  act 6  settling  the 
rates  and  terms  under  which  Bishop  was  to  exercise  his  duties.  For 
the  time  being  he  was  to  charge  the  same  rates  as  those  in  the 

•    *  Scobell,  Collect.,  pp.  511-13  (1656,  c.  30). 

8  Col.  S.  P.  D.,  1657-58,  p.  81.  In  January  of  1660  the  Council  took  the  Post 
Office  under  its  own  control  for  a  short  time.  Jo.  H.  C.,  1651-59,  p.  81;  Cal.  S.  P.  D., 
1659-60,  p.  303. 

1  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1660-61,  p.  178;  Hist.  MSS.  Com.,  Rep.  7,  p.  109. 

4  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1660-61,  pp.  93-100,  301. 

6  Ibid.,  1660-61,  pp.  37,  82. 

6  The  act  of  1660  (12  Ch.  II,  c.  35)  passed  in  pursuance  of  this  agreement  added 
nothing  of  importance  to  the  act  of  1657,  except  on  the  question  of  rates.  See  below, 
chapter  vm. 


THE' ESTABLISHMENT  A   SOURCE  OF  REVENUE      25 

"pretended  Act  of  1657,"  to  defray  all  postal  expenses  and  to  carry 
free  all  public  letters  and  letters  of  members  of  Parliament  during 
the  present  session.  He  agreed  also  to  allow  the  Secretaries  to 
examine  letters  and  not  to  change  old  routes  or  set  up  new  without 
their  consent.  He  was  to  dismiss  all  officials  whom  they  should 
object  to  on  reasonable  grounds.  If  his  income  should  be  lessened 
by  war  or  plague  or  if  this  grant  should  prove  ineffectual,  the  Secre- 
taries agreed  to  allow  such  abatement  in  his  farm  as  should  seem 
reasonable  to  them.1  Bishop's  regime  does  not  seem  to  have  been 
popular  with  the  postmasters,  for  a  petition  in  behalf  of  300  of 
them,  representing  themselves  to  be  "all  the  postmasters  in  Eng- 
land, Scotland,  and  Ireland,"  was  presented  to  Parliament  in  pro- 
test against  the  Postmaster-General's  actions.  They  describe  how 
Cromwell  had  let  the  Post  Office  out  to  farm.  They  credit  him  with 
respecting  their  rights  and  paying  their  wages.  Lately,  however, 
Bishop  had  been  appointed  farmer,  and  unless  they  submitted  to 
his  orders,  they  were  dismissed  at  once.  He  had  decreased  their 
wages  by  more  than  one  half,  made  them  pay  for  their  places  again, 
and  demanded  bonds  from  them  that  they  should  not  disclose  any 
of  these  things.2 

In  1633,  Bishop  resigned  his  grant  to  Daniel  O'Neale  for  £8000. 
O'Neale  offered  £2000  and,  in  addition,  promised  £1000  a  year, 
during  the  lease,  to  Bennet,  Secretary  of  State,  if  he  would  have  the 
assignment  confirmed.  He  explained  that  this  would  not  injure  the 
Duke  of  York's  interest,  who  could  expect  no  increase  until  the 
expiration  of  the  original  contract,  which  still  had  four  years  and  a 
quarter  to  run.3  This  refers  to  an  act  of  Parliament  which  had  just 
been  passed,  settling  the  £21,500  post  revenue  upon  the  Duke  of 
York  and  his  male  heirs,4  with  the  exception  of  some  £5000  which 
had  been  assigned  by  the  King  to  his  mistresses  and  favourites. 
O'Neale  having  died  before  his  lease  expired,  his  wife,  the  Countess 
of  Chesterfield,  performed  his  duties  until  i667.6 

1  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  xiv,  app.,  pp.  75,  76  (52,  53). 

2  Hist.  MSS.  Com.,  Rep.,  7,  p.  140. 

1  Col.  S.  P.  D.,  1663-64,  p.  122;  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  xiv,  app.,  pp.  86,  91  (60,  64). 
4  Ibid.,  1844,  xiv,  app.,  p.  91  (64).    Confirmed  in  1685  (Hist.  MSS.  Com.,  Rep., 
n,  app.,  2,  p.  315;  i  Jas.  ii,  c.  12). 
6  Col.  S.  P.  D.t  1664-65,  p.  376;  1666-67,  P.  567. 


26        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

According  to  the  grant  made  to  O'Neale  in  1663  no  postmaster 
nor  any  other  person  except  the  one  to  whom  it  was  directed  or 
returned  was  to  open  any  letter  unless  ordered  so  to  do  by  an  ex- 
press warrant  from  one  of  the  Secretaries  of  State.  If  any  letter  was 
overcharged,  the  excess  was  to  be  returned  to  the  person  to  whom  it 
was  directed.  Nothing  was  said  about  letters  which  were  lost  or 
stolen  in  the  post.  A  certain  John  Pawlett  complained  that  of  six- 
teen letters  which  he  had  posted  not  one  was  ever  delivered  in  Lon- 
don although  the  postage  was  prepaid.1  Letters  not  prepaid  were 
stamped  with  the  postage  due  in  the  London  Office  when  they  were 
sent  from  London.  Letters  sent  to  London  were  charged  by  the 
receiving  postmaster  in  the  country  and  the  charge  verified  at  the 
London  Office.  An  account  was  kept  there  of  the  amounts  due  and 
the  postmasters  were  debited  with  them,  less  the  sum  for  letters  not 
delivered,  which  had  also  to  be  returned  for  verification.2  All  this 
meant  losses  to  the  postal  revenue,  but  compulsory  prepayment 
would  have  been  impracticable  at  the  time.  The  postmasters  had 
nothing  to  gain  by  retaining  letters  not  prepaid,  but  by  neglecting 
to  forward  prepaid  letters,  they  could  keep  the  whole  of  the  pos- 
tage, for  stamps  were  unknown.  An  incentive  to  the  delivery  of 
letters  was  provided  by  the  penny  payment  which  it  was  custom- 
ary to  give  the  postmasters  for  each  letter  delivered,  over  and 
above  the  regular  postage.  The  postmasters  were  required  to  remit 
the  postage  collected  to  London  every  month  and  give  bonds  for 
the  performance  of  their  duties.3 

The  postal  service  was  very  much  demoralized  by  the  plague  in 
1665  and  1666  and  the  great  fire  which  followed.  Hicks,  the  clerk, 
said  that  the  gains  during  this  time  would  be  very  small.  To  pre- 
vent contagion  the  building  was  so  "  fumed  "  that  they  could  hardly 
see  each  other.4  The  letters  were  aired  over  vinegar  or  in  front  of 
large  fires  and  Hicks  remarks  that  had  the  pestilence  been  carried 
by  letters  they  would  have  been  dead  long  ago.  While  the  plague 
was  still  dangerous,  the  King's  letters  were  not  allowed  to  pass 

1  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1664-65,  p.  457.     Although  letters  might  be  prepaid,  it  was  not 
compulsory  that  they  should  be,  and  the  vast  majority  were  not. 

2  Joyce,  p.  46.  *  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1667,  p.  80. 
4  Ibid.,  1664-65,  p.  51. 


THE  ESTABLISHMENT  A   SOURCE  OF  REVENUE      27 

through  London.1  After  the  fire  the  headquarters  of  the  Post- 
Office  in  London  were  removed  to  Gresham  College. 

When  O'Neale's  lease  had  expired  in  1667,  Lord  Arlington,  Secre- 
tary of  State,  was  appointed  Postmaster-General.2  The  real  head 
was  Sir  John  Bennet,  with  whom  Hicks  was  entirely  out  of  sym- 
pathy. He  accused  Bennet  of  "scurviness"  and  condemned  the 
changes  initiated  by  him.  These  changes  were  in  the  shape  of  re- 
ductions in  wages.  The  postmasters'  salaries  were  to  be  reduced 
from  £40  to  £20  a  year.  In  the  London  Office,  the  wages  of  the 
carriers  and  porters  were  also  to  be  reduced.3 

At  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century  there  were  forty-nine 
men  employed  in  the  Inland  Department  of  the  Post  Office  in  Lon- 
don. The  Postmaster-General,  or  Controller  as  he  was  sometimes 
called,  was  nominally  responsible  for  the  whole  management  al- 
though the  accountant  and  treasurer  were  more  or  less  independent. 
Then  there  were  eight  clerks  of  the  roads.  They  had  charge  of  the 
mails  coming  and  going  on  the  six  great  roads  to  Holyhead,  Bristol, 
Plymouth,  Edinburgh,  Yarmouth,  and  Dover.  The  old  veteran 
Hicks  had  been  at  their  head  until  his  resignation  in  1670.  The 
General  Post  Office  building  was  in  Lombard  Street.4  Letters  might 
be  posted  there  or  at  the  receiving  stations  at  Westminster,  Char- 
ing Cross,  Pall  Mall,  Covent  Garden,  and  the  Inns  of  Court.  From 
these  stations,  letters  were  despatched  to  the  General  Office  twice 
on  mail  nights.  For  this  work  thirty-two  letter  carriers  were  em- 
ployed, but  they  did  not  deliver  letters  as  their  namesakes  now  do. 
The  mails  left  London  for  all  parts  of  the  country  on  Tuesday, 
Thursday,  and  Saturday  late  at  night  or  early  the  next  .morning. 
On  these  days  all  officials  had  to  attend  at  6  P.M.  and  were  gener- 
ally at  work  all  night.  On  Monday,  Wednesday  and  Friday  when 
the  mails  arrived  from  all  parts  of  England  they  had  to  be  on  hand 
at  4  or  5  A.M.  The  postage  to  be  paid  was  stamped  on  the  letters 
by  the  clerks  of  the  roads.  In  addition  three  sorters  and  three  win- 
dow-men were  employed.  The  window-men  were  the  officials  who 
stood  at  the  window  to  receive  the  letters  handed  in  and  to  collect 

1  Hist.  MSS.  Com.,  Rep.,  12,  app.,  pt.  7,  pp.  14,  93;  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1665-66,  p.  14. 
Cal  S.  P.  D.  Add.,  1600-70,  p.  713.  a  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1665-66,  p.  573. 

1  Ibid.,  1667,  p.  260.  *  Stow,  London,  bk.  ii,  p.  163. 


28        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

postage  when  it  was  prepaid.  Then  there  were  an  alphabet-man, 
who  posted  the  names  of  merchants  for  whom  letters  had  arrived, 
a  sorter  of  paid  letters,  and  a  clerk  of  undertaxed  letters.1  In  the 
Foreign  Office,  there  were  a  controller,  two  sorters,  an  alphabet- 
man,  and  eight  letter  receivers,  of  whom  two  were  women.  In  addi- 
tion the  Foreign  Office  had  a  rebate  man  who  saw  that  overcharged 
letters  were  corrected.  Both  offices  seem  to  have  shared  the  carriers 


in  common.2 


Before  1680  there  was  no  post  between  one  part  of  London  and 
another.  A  Londoner  having  a  letter  for  delivery  had  either  to  take 
it  himself  or  send  it  by  a  special  messenger.  The  houses  were  not 
numbered  and  were  generally  recognized  by  the  signs  they  bore  or 
their  nearness  to  some  public  building.  Such  was  the  condition  in 
the  metropolis  when  William  Dockwra  organized  his  London  Penny 
Post.  On  the  first  of  April,  1680,  London  found  itself  in  possession 
of  a  postal  system  which  in  some  respects  was  superior  to  that  of 
to-day.  In  the  Penny  Post  Office  as  so  established  there  were  em- 
ployed a  controller,  an  accountant,  a  receiver,  thirteen  clerks 
in  the  six  offices,  and  about  a  hundred  messengers  to  collect  and  de- 
liver letters.  The  six  offices  were:  — 

The  General  Office  in  Star  Court,  Cornhill; 

St.  Paul's  Office  in  Queen's  Head  Alley,  Newgate  Street; 

Temple  Office  in  Colchester  Rents  in  Chancery  Lane; 

Westminster  Office,  St.  Martin's  Lane; 

Southwark  Office  near  St.  Mary  Overy's  Church; 

Hermitage  Office  in  Swedeland  Court,  East  Smithfield. 
There  were  in  all  about  179  places  in  London  where  letters  might 
be  posted.  Shops  and  coffee-houses  were  used  for  this  purpose  in 
addition  to  the  six  offices,  and  in  almost  every  street  a  table  might 
be  seen  at  some  door  or  shop-window  bearing  in  large  letters  the 
sign  "  Penny  Post  Letters  and  Parcels  are  taken  in  here."  From 
these  places  letters  were  collected  every  hour  and  taken  to  the 
six  main  receiving-houses.  There  they  were  sorted  and  stamped 
by  the  thirteen  clerks.  The  same  messengers  carried  them  from 

1  Notes  and  Queries,  series  9,  i,  p.  122;  Hist.  MSS.  Com.,  Rep.,  15,  app.,  pt.  2,  p.  19; 
Col.  S.  P.  D.,  1670,  p.  578. 
1  Hist.  MSS.  Com.,  Rep.,  15,  app.,  pt.  2,  p.  19. 


'THE  ESTABLISHMENT  A  SOURCE  OF  REVENUE    29 

the  receiving-houses  to  the  people  to  whom  they  were  addressed. 
There  were  four  deliveries  a  day  to  most  parts  of  the  city  and  six 
or  eight  to  the  business  centres. 

The  postage  fee  for  all  letters  or  parcels  to  be  delivered  within 
the  bills  of  mortality  was  one  penny,  payable  in  advance.  The 
penny  rate  was  uniform  for  all  letters  and  parcels  up  to  one  pound 
in  weight,  which  was  the  maximum  allowed.  Articles  or  money  to 
the  value  of  £10  might  be  sent  and  the  penny  payment  insured  their 
safe  delivery.  There  was  a  daily  delivery  to  places  ten  or  fifteen 
miles  from  London  and  there  was  also  a  daily  collection  for  such 
places.  The  charge  of  one  penny  in  such  cases  paid  only  for  convey- 
ance to  the  post-house  and  an  additional  penny  was  paid  on  de- 
livery. From  such  places  to  London,  however,  only  one  penny  was 
demanded  and  there  was  no  fee  for  delivery.  The  carriers  in  Lon- 
don travelled  on  foot,  but  in  some  of  the  neighbouring  towns  they 
rode  on  horseback.1 

Dockwra  is  credited  with  being  the  first  to  make  use  of  post- 
marks. All  letters  were  stamped  at  the  six  principal  receiving- 
ofiices  with  the  name  of  the  receiving-office  and  the  hour  of  their 
reception.  For  instance,  we  have  samples  of  letters  post-marked 
thus: 


The  first  figure  shows  that  they  were  Penny  Post  letters  and  that 
they  were  prepaid.  The  "W"  in  the  centre  is  the  initial  letter  of 
the  receiving-office,  Westminster.  The  second  figure  shows  the 
hour  of  arrival  at  the  Westminster  office,  9  A.M.  The  earliest  in- 
stance of  these  marks  is  on  a  letter  dated  Dec.  9, 1681,  written  by 
the  Bishop  of  London  to  the  Lord  Mayor.2 

1  Stow,  London,  bk.  v,  pp.  403-04;  Thos.  DeLaune,  Present  State  of  London,  1681, 
pp.  346-47;  W.  Thornbury,  Old  and  New  London,  ii,  p.  209;  Noorthouck,  Hist,  of 
London,  1773,  p.  252.  Noorthouck  is  mistaken  in  making  Murray  the  promoter  of 
the  London  Penny  Post,  although  the  idea  may  have  originated  with  him. 

2  Notes  and  Queries,  ser.  6,  xi,  p.  153;  Hist.  MSS.  Com.,  Rep.,  10,  app.  4,  pp.  125, 
132;  Joyce,  p.  38. 


30        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

Whenever  letters  came  from  any  part  of  the  world  by  the  Gen- 
eral Post,  directed  to  persons  in  London  or  in  any  of  the  towns 
where  the  Penny  Post  carriers  went,  they  were  handed  over  to 
these  carriers  to  be  delivered.  In  the  same  way,  letters  directed 
to  any  part  of  the  world  might  be  left  at  any  of  the  receiving-offices 
of  the  Penny  Post  to  be  carried  by  its  messengers  to  the  General 
Office.  This  must  have  increased  greatly  the  number  of  letters 
carried  by  the  General  Post.  In  the  case  of  letters  arriving  by  the 
General  and  delivered  by  the  Penny  Post,  the  postage  was  paid  on 
delivery.1  Over  two  hundred  and  thirty  years  ago  then,  London  had 
for  a  time  a  system  of  postal  delivery  not  only  unrivalled  until  a 
short  time  ago,  but  in  the  matter  of  parcel  rates  and  insurance  not 
yet  equalled. 

What  was  Dockwra's  reward  for  the  boon  which  he  had  con- 
ferred? He  himself  says  that  it  had  been  undertaken  at  his  sole 
charge  and  had  cost  him  £10,000.  It  had  not  paid  for  the  first  few 
months,  and  the  friends  who  had  associated  themselves  with  him 
fell  away.2  As  long  as  it  produced  no  surplus,  Dockwra  was  left  to 
do  as  he  pleased,  for  the  General  Post  was  gaining  indirectly  from  it. 
As  soon  as  it  began  to  pay,  the  Duke  of  York  cast  his  eye  on  it.  In 
1683  an  action  was  brought  against  Dockwra  for  infringing  upon 
the  prerogative  of  His  Royal  Highness,  and  the  Duke  won  the  case. 
The  Penny  Post  was  incorporated  in  the  General  Post  soon  after.3 
After  William  and  Mary  had  come  to  the  throne,  Dockwra  was 
given  a  pension  of  £500  a  year  for  seven  years.  At  the  end  of  that 
time  he  was  appointed  manager  of  the  Penny  Post  Department  of 
the  General  Post  and  his  pension  was  continued  for  three  years 
longer.  In  1700  he  was  dismissed,  charged  with  "forbidding  the 
taking  in  of  band-boxes  (unless  very  small)  and  all  parcels  above 
one  pound  in  weight,  with  stopping  parcels,  and  opening  and  de- 
taining letters." 4  Such  was  Dockwra's  reward  and  such  had  been 

1  DeLaune,  Present  State  of  London,  1681,  p.  345. 

2  Cal  B.  P.,  1697-1702,  xliv,  56. 

8  Two  men  living  in  Limerick  and  Tipperary  claimed  in  1692  that  they  had  organ- 
ized a  Penny  Post  in  Ireland  (Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1691-92,  p.  449). 

In  1704  the  Countess  Dowager  of  Thanet  petitioned  to  be  allowed  to  establish  a 
Penny  Post  in  Dublin,  but  nothing  was  done  (Cal.  T.  P.,  1702-07,  Ixxxix,  305). 

4  Cal.  T.  P.,  1697-1702,  Ixxi,  40;  Charles  Knight,  London,  1842,  iii,  p.  282. 


THE  ESTABLISHMENT  A  SOURCE  OF  REVENUE      31 

Witherings'.  He  who  would  reform  the  Post  Office  must  be  pre- 
pared to  take  his  official  life  in  his  hands. 

The  transition  between  two  reigns  was  usually  a  period  of  unrest 
and  disquietude,  and  the  Revolution  which  resulted  in  the  ex- 
pulsion of  James  was  naturally  accompanied  by  internal  disorder. 
For  a  time  the  posts  suffered  quite  severely.  The  Irish  and  Scotch 
mails  were  robbed  several  times  and  not  even  the  "Black  Box"  es- 
caped. This  was  the  box  in  which  were  carried  the  despatches  be- 
tween Scotland  and  the  Secretaries  of  State,  the  use  of  which  was 
not  discontinued  until  after  the  accession  of  the  new  King  and 
Queen.  After  1693  each  Secretary  was  to  send  and  receive  his 
own  despatches  separately  and  all  expenses  were  to  be  met  from 
the  proceeds  of  the  London-Berwick  post.1  Major  Wildman  had 
been  appointed  to  the  oversight  of  the  Post  Office,  but  held  office 
for  a  few  months  only,  being  succeeded  in  1691  by  Cotton  and 
Frankland.  The  Postmasters- General  were  henceforth  to  act  un- 
der the  Lords  of  the  Treasury.2 

Important  improvements  in  the  frequency  and  extension  of 
postal  communication  were  inaugurated  under  the  management  of 
Cotton  and  Frankland.  It  was,  however,  for  the  extension  of  the 
foreign  postal  service  and  for  that  to  Ireland  and  the  plantations 
that  their  administration  is  most  notable. 

On  Monday  and  Thursday  letters  went  to  France,  Italy,  and 
Spain,  on  Monday  and  Friday  to  the  Netherlands,  Germany, 
Sweden,  and  Denmark.  On  Tuesday,  Thursday,  and  Saturday, 
mails  left  for  all  parts  of  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland,  and  there 
was  a  daily  post  to  Kent  and  the  Downs.  Letters  arrived  in  Lon- 
don from  all  parts  of  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland  on  Monday, 
Wednesday,  and  Friday,  from  Wales  every  Monday  and  from  Kent 
and  the  Downs  every  day.  Besides  the  establishment  of  the  Gen- 
eral Post  in  London,  there  were  about  200  deputy  postmasters  em- 
ployed in  England  and  Scotland.3  The  Irish  Post  was  supervised 
from  London  and  during  the  Irish  war  its  headquarters  in  Ireland 

1  Hist.  MSS.  Com.,  Rep.,  12,  app.,  pt.  7,  p.  262;  CaL  S.  P.  D.,  1690-91,  p.  50;  Hist. 
MSS.  Com.,  Rep.,  15,  app.,  pt.  9,  pp.  144,  180;  CaL  T.  P.,  1557-1696,  p.  284. 

3  CaL  S.  P.  D.,  1689-90,  pp.  59,  74;  CaL  T.  P.,  1557-1696,  p.  203. 

3  Stow,  London,  bk.  v,  p.  401;  DeLaune,  Present  State  of  England,  ed.  1690,  p. 
343- 


32        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

were  transferred  from  Dublin  to  Belfast.  It  was  directly  managed 
by  a  Deputy  Postmaster- General,  aided  by  ten  or  a  dozen  officials 
and  clerks.  The  net  receipts  were  sent  to  England  and  the  books 
were  audited  by  a  deputy  sent  over  by  the  Auditor-General  of  the 
English  Post.1 

The  Scotch  Post  Office  was  not  in  so  good  condition  as  the  Irish. 
The  time  when  every  Scotchman  could  read  and  write  was  yet  very 
far  distant.  The  only  post  road  of  any  importance  was  from  Edin- 
burgh to  Berwick  and  this  had  been  established  by  the  English. 
For  many  years  the  vast  majority  of  letters  travelling  over  this 
road  were  official  despatches.  After  the  crowns  of  England  and  Scot- 
land were  united,  it  was  necessary  for  the  English  Government  to 
keep  in  close  touch  with  Scotland  and  " Black  Box"  made  frequent 
journeys  between  the  two  countries.  The  canny  people  in  the  north 
had  discovered  a  rich  country  to  the  south  waiting  to  be  exploited, 
and  the  post  horses  between  Edinburgh  and  London  were  kept 
busy  carrying  the  lean  and  hungry  northern  folk  to  the  land  of 
milk  and  honey.  Until  1695  the  English  and  Scotch  Post  Offices 
had  been  united  under  the  English  Postmaster-General  with  an 
Edinburgh  deputy;  but  by  the  Scotch  act  of  1695  the  Post  Office 
of  Scotland  was  separated  from  that  of  England.  The  terms  of  this 
act  were  much  the  same  as  those  of  the  English  act  of  1660,  al- 
though the  rates  established  were  somewhat  higher.  There  was  to 
be  a  Postmaster-General  living  in  Edinburgh,  who  was  to  have  the 
monopoly  of  carrying  all  letters  and  packets  where  posts  were 
settled.2 

The  first  proposal  for  a  postal  establishment  in  the  American 
colonies  came  from  New  England  in  1638.  The  reason  given  was 
that  a  post  office  was  "so  useful  and  absolutely  necessary." 3 
Nothing  was  done  by  the  home  government  until  fifty  years  later 
when  a  proclamation  was  issued,  ordering  letter  offices  to  be  settled 
in  convenient  places  on  the  North  American  continent.  Rates  were 
established  for  the  continental  colonies  and  Jamaica.4  In  1691, 
acting  upon  a  report  of  the  Governors  of  the  Post-Office,  the  Lords 

1  Cal  T.  P.,  1557-1696,  pp.  369,  461. 

1  Acts  of  Parliament  of  Scotland,  ix.,  pp.  417-419  (5  Wm.  III). 

'  Cal  S.  P.  D.,  1574-1660,  p.  273.  4  Joyce,  pp.  196,  300. 


THE  ESTABLISHMENT  A  SOURCE  OF  REVENUE      33 

of  Trade  and  Plantations  granted  a  patent  to  Thomas  Neale  to 
establish  post  offices  in  North  America.  About  the  same  time  an 
act  was  passed  by  the  Colony  of  Massachusetts  appointing  Andrew 
Hamilton  Postmaster-General.  The  Lords  of  Trade  and  Planta- 
tions called  attention  to  the  fact  that  this  act  was  not  subject  to  the 
patent  granted  to  Neale.  Matters  were  adjusted  by  Neale  himself, 
who  appointed  Hamilton  his  deputy  in  North  America.1  In  1699 
a  report  was  made  by  Cotton  and  Frankland  to  the  Lords  of  the 
Treasury  based  on  a  memorial  from  Neale  and  Hamilton.  The 
latter  had  established  a  regular  weekly  post  between  Boston  and 
New  York  and  from  New  York  to  Newcastle  in  Pennsylvania.  The 
receipts  had  increased  every  year  and  now  covered  all  expenses 
except  Hamilton's  own  salary,  £200.  Postmasters  had  been  ap- 
pointed in  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  Hamilton  himself  being  in 
Boston.  The  New  York  postmaster  received  a  salary  of  £20  with 
an  additional  £90  for  carrying  the  mail  half-way  to  Boston.  The 
Philadelphia  postmaster  was  paid  £10  a  year.2 

The  business  of  the  Post  Office  was  rapidly  increasing.  The  same 
decade  that  saw  the  establishment  of  the  Board  of  Trade  witnessed 
also  the  organization  of  the  Colonial  Post.  The  expansion  of  Eng- 
lish commerce 3  necessarily  reacted  on  communications  both  inter- 
nal and  foreign,  while  the  linking  of  the  country  posts  with  the 
general  system  and  the  stimulus  given  by  the  London  Penny  Post 
showed  itself  in  the  increased  postal  revenue.4  The  way  was  pre- 
pared for  the  great  expansion  of  the  following  century,  an  expan- 
sion turned  to  account  as  a  source  of  taxation. 

1  Cal.  S.  P.  Am.  and  W.  /.,  1693-96,  p.  637. 
•  Cal.  T.  P.,  1697-1702,  Ix,  77- 
1  Macpherson,  Annals  of  Commerce,  ii,  707. 
4  See  Appendix:  Tables  i,  n. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  POSTAL  ESTABLISHMENT  AN  INSTRUMENT  OF  TAXATION 

1711-1840 

THE  year  1711  is  an  important  landmark  in  the  history  of  the 
British  Post  Office.  England  and  Scotland  had  united  not  only 
under  one  king  but  under  one  Parliament,  the  war  with  France 
made  a  larger  revenue  necessary,  the  growth  of  the  Colonies  re- 
quired better  communication  with  the  mother  country  and  each 
other,  and  it  was  highly  expedient  that  certain  changes  in  the  policy 
of  the  Post  Office  should  receive  parliamentary  sanction.  The  act 
of  1711  was  intended  to  meet  these  conditions.  The  English  and 
Scotch  Post  Offices  were  united  under  one  Postmaster-General  in 
London,  where  letters  might  be  received  from  and  sent  to  all  parts 
of  Great  Britain,  Ireland,  the  colonies  and  foreign  countries.  The 
postage  rates  were  increased  to  meet  the  demand  for  a  larger 
revenue.  In  addition  to  the  General  Office  in  London,  chief  letter 
offices  were  ordered  to  be  set  up  in  Edinburgh,  Dublin,  New  York, 
the  West  Indies,  and  other  American  colonies,  and  deputies  were 
appointed  to  take  charge  of  them. 

One  of  the  most  important  clauses  of  this  act,  by  providing  regu- 
lations for  the  management  of  the  London  Penny  Post,  finally 
placed  the  seal  of  the  approval  of  Parliament  upon  a  branch  of  the 
General  Post,  which  had  existed  for  nearly  thirty  years  by  virtue 
of  royal  proclamations  and  legal  decisions  alone.  A  penny  rate 
was  imposed  upon  all  letters  and  packets  passing  by  the  Penny 
Post  in  London,  Westminster  and  Southwark  to  be  received  and 
delivered  within  ten  miles  from  the  General  Post  Office  building. 
This  would  seem  at  first  sight  to  be  an  improvement  on  the  old  cus- 
tom, by  which  a  penny  had  carried  only  within  the  bills  of  mortality ; 
but  as  a  matter  of  fact  an  extra  penny  was  demanded  on  letters 
delivered  outside  the  bills  and  within  the  ten  mile  limit.  Protest 


THE  ESTABLISHMENT  AN  INSTRUMENT  OF  TAXATION    35 

was,  however,  made  against  this  as  being  illegal,  and  it  was  not 
until  1730  that  the  custom  was  sanctioned.1 

One  other  provision  of  the  new  act  remains  to  be  mentioned. 
The  last  section  forbade  any  official  connected  with  the  Post  Office 
from  meddling  in  politics.2  The  system  of  party  government 
which  had  begun  to  take  form  during  William  and  Mary's  reign, 
was  developing.  Under  Anne,  the  Whigs  had  been  the  war  party, 
the  expansionists,  while  the  Tories  were  anxious  for  peace.  So  dif- 
ferent were  their  policies  that  Marlborough  had  gone  over  to  the 
Whigs.  But  the  Queen  and  probably  the  majority  of  the  people 
were  tired  of  war.  Godolphin,  the  great  financier,  had  given  way 
to  Harley  and  the  general  election  was  favourable  to  the  Tories. 
Frankland  had  died  before  the  act  was  passed,  but  Cotton,  who 
was  a  member  of  Parliament,  preferred  to  keep  his  position  in  the 
Post  Office  and  accordingly  accepted  the  Chiltern  Hundreds.  A 
Mr.  Evelyn  was  associated  with  him  as  Postmaster-General. 

Shortly  after  his  appointment  the  attention  of  the  department 
was  directed  to  a  weakness  in  administrative  control  which  had 
already  resulted  in  considerable  financial  loss.  The  Postmasters- 
General  had  always  experienced  considerable  difficulty  in  collect- 
ing the  postage  on  bye  and  cross  road  letters.3  Since  these  letters 
did  not  reach  London,  no  check  was  possible  to  ascertain  whether 
the  postmaster  transmitted  to  headquarters  the  full  amount  of 
the  postage  collected  on  them.  The  difficulty  had  been  met  before 
1711  by  farming  a  large  number  of  the  country  post  offices.4  In 
1711  the  leases  under  which  the  farmers  had  held  office  were  can- 
celled and  all  the  posts  in  the  kingdom  came  again  under  the  direct 
oversight  of  the  Postmasters-General.  The  old  farmers  were  made 
managers,  with  an  allowance  of  10  per  cent  from  the  net  proceeds 
of  the  posts  under  their  control,  and  the  deputy  postmasters  were 
again  paid  directly  by  the  state.  The  Government  had  refused 

1  In  1765  the  maximum  weight  for  articles  passing  wholly  by  the  Penny  Post  was 
lowered  from  16  to  4  ounces  (5  Geo.  Ill,  c.  25). 

*  9  Anne,  c.  n. 

*  A  bye-letter  was  the  name  given  to  a  letter  carried  over  one  of  the  great  roads 
but  not  passing  to,  from  or  through  London.  A  cross  post  letter  passed  not  over  the 
great  roads,  but  over  subsidiary  or  minor  roads. 

4  Joyce,  p.  136. 


36       THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

to  appoint  surveyors  when  the  act  of  1711  was  drafted  and  for  a 
time  these  managers  acted  in  that  capacity.1  The  experiment  was 
not  a  success  and  the  Postmasters-General  were  at  their  wits'  end 
to  know  what  to  do  to  save  the  revenue  which  was  being  diverted 
to  the  pockets  of  the  country  postmasters. 

The  country  was  happily  spared  any  new  device  on  their  part, 
for  in  1721  a  man  came  forward  with  a  proposal  to  take  all  the  losses 
upon  himself  or  rather  to  prevent  them  entirely.  This  was  Ralph 
Allen,  whose  name  is  worth  remembering,  not  as  a  reformer  but  as 
a  good  business  man  who  came  to  the  rescue  of  the  postal  revenue 
at  a  rather  critical  time.  He  was  the  son  of  an  innkeeper  at  St. 
Blazey.  At  an  early  age  we  find  him  living  with  his  grandmother, 
the  postmistress  of  St.  Columb.  He  came  under  the  notice  of  one 
of  the  surveyors  there  on  account  of  tthe  neatness  with  which  he 
kept  the  accounts  for  his  grandmother.  When  he  was  old  enough, 
he  was  appointed  to  a  position  in  the  Post  Office  at  Bath  and  in 
time  was  made  postmaster  there.  Tradition  has  it  that  during  the 
insurrection  of  1715  he  informed  the  authorities  that  a  wagon  load 
of  arms  was  on  its  way  from  the  West  for  the  use  of  the  rebels  and 
that  this  led  to  his  preferment.2  He  offered  to  farm  the  cross  and 
bye  posts  throughout  the  kingdom.  The  net  product  from  these 
posts  amounted  to  £4000  in  1719.  Allen  offered  to  pay  half  as  much 
again  and  meet  all  expenses.  The  offer  was  accepted,  and  in  1721 
he  was  given  the  lease  of  the  cross  and  bye  posts  for  a  period  of 
seven  years.  The  rent  was  fixed  at  £6000  a  year  in  accordance 
with  the  agreement.  For  the  first  quarter,  the  receipts  exceeded 
expectations,  but  later  the  postmasters  began  to  relapse  into  their 
old  ways.  In  addition,  the  contract  was  rather  hard  on  Allen,  as 
£300  of  the  £4000  nominally  received  by  the  Post  Office  was  for 
letters  not  delivered  and  hence  not  paid  for.  After  the  third  year, 
matters  began  to  improve  and  the  receipts  increased  greatly.  The 
contract  was  renewed  for  terms  of  seven  years,  until  Allen's  death 
in  1769,  and  the  rent  was  increased  at  each  renewal.3 

How  did  he  succeed  when  so  many  others  had  failed?  In  the  first 

i    *  Cal.  T.  P.,  1714-19,  cxc,  26;  ccvi,  29.  *  Joyce,  p.  146. 

»  Cal.  T.  B.  &  P.,  1731-34,  P-  539;  W.  Thornbury,  Old  and  New  London,  ii,  p. 
209;  W.  Lewins,  Her  Majesty's  Mails,  ed.  1865,  pp.  104-12. 


THE  ESTABLISHMENT  AN  INSTRUMENT  OF  TAXATION    37 

place  he  introduced  the  use  of  post  bills  and  every  postmaster  had 
to  distinguish  on  these  bills  the  bye  letters  from  all  others.  The 
voucher,  which  he  also  introduced,  seems  to  have  been  only  an  ac- 
knowledgment of  the  amount  to  be  collected  by  each  postmaster. 
Besides  this,  Allen  had  a  most  intimate  knowledge  of  the  various 
post  towns  in  the  kingdom,  of  their  importance  and  of  the  number 
of  letters  which  might  naturally  be  expected  to  pass  between  them. 
He  based  his  conclusions  upon  quite  obvious  considerations.  Be- 
tween any  two  towns  of  much  the  same  importance  he  expected 
about  the  same  correspondence,  that  it  would  not  vary  much,  and 
that  the  letters  received  and  despatched  would  pretty  well  equal 
each  other.1 

When  Allen's  contract  was  renewed  in  1741  it  was  proposed  that 
he  should  be  obliged  to  settle  and  support  at  his  own  charge  posts 
six  days  a  week  instead  of  the  former  tri-weekly  posts  between  Lon- 
don, Cambridge,  Lynn,  Norwich,  and  Yarmouth  and  from.  London 
to  Bath,  Bristol,  Gloucester,  and  intermediate  towns.  This  was  no.t 
done  at  once,  but  during  the  next  few  years  this  proposition  was 
put  into  effect.2  In  1734,  in  addition  to  his  cross  and  bye  post  let- 
ters, Allen  undertook  to  pay  for  the  improvements  which  he  had 
made  in  the  conveyance  of  country  letters.3  He  pointed  out  at  the 
same  time  that  there  was  some  opposition  between  the  two  parts 
of  his  contract,  since  country  and  cross  post  letters  interfered  more 
or  less  with  each  other.4 

.Allen  died  in  1769,  being  worth,  according  to  current  report, 
£500,000.  Lewins  says  that  he  made  £12,000  a  year  from  his  farm. 
Probably  both  statements  are  exaggerated,  but  it  is  certain  that  he 
accumulated  a  respectable  fortune  while  managing  the  bye  and 
cross  posts.5 

1  Joyce,  pp.  155,  162.  *  Col.  T~B.  &  P.,  1739-41,  PP-  449~45O- 

8  Country  letters  were  those  sent  through  London.  Cat.  T.  B.  fir  P.,  1739-41, 
p.  450. 

4  Cal.  T.  B.  6*  P.,  1734-41,  pp.  445,  450;  W.  Thornbury,  Old  and  New  London, 
ii,  p.  209. 

6  He  is  the  man  to  whom  Pope  alluded  in  the  couplet, 
"  Let  humble  Allen,  with  an  honest  shame, 
Do  good  by  stealth  and  blush  to  find  it  fame." 

Allen  and  the  poet  had  a  falling  out  just  before  the  death  of  the  latter.  In  his  will, 
Pope  left  his  quondam  friend  £150  to  pay  a  "few  little  debts."  Allen  is  said  to  have 


38   THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

There  had  been  a  considerable  increase  in  the  staff  of  the  General 
Office  and  many  improvements  introduced  since  1711.  At  the  head 
of  the  office  were  two  Commissioners  called  Postmasters- General, 
each  with  a  salary  of  £2000,  assisted  by  a  Secretary  and  four  clerks. 
There  were  in  addition  a  Receiver- General,  an  Accountant-General, 
a  Solicitor,  a  Resident-Surveyor,  and  two  inspectors  of  missent 
letters.  In  addition  to  the  Penny  Post  carriers,  who  were  employed 
also  by  the  General  Post,  there  were  a  Court  Messenger  and  a  car- 
rier for  the  House  of  Commons.  At  the  General  Office,  letters  were 
taxed  and  sorted  by  the  "  Clerks  of  the  Road  "  and  their  assistants 
and  by  seventeen  sorters.  The  window-man  and  alphabet-keeper 
received  the  money  on  prepaid  letters  and  posted  lists  of  those  for 
whom  letters  had  arrived.  Undertaxed  letters  from  the  country 
were  re- taxed  by  the  "  Clerks  of  the  Road."  Besides  the  receiving- 
houses  of  the  Penny  Post  where  all  letters  might  be  posted,  there 
were  thirty  receiving-houses  for  the  General  Post.  Letters  were 
conveyed  from  these  to  the  central  office  by  sixty-nine  carriers.1 

Letters  were  sent  every  night  to  the  principal  South  and  Mid- 
land towns  of  England.  On  Tuesday,  Thursday,  and  Saturday, 
there  were  mails  for  all  parts  of  England  and  Scotland  and  on 
Tuesday  and  Saturday  for  Ireland  and  Wales.  On  Monday  and 
Thursday,  letters  were  sent  to  France,  Spain,  and  Italy,  on  Monday 
and  Friday  to  Germany,  Flanders,  Sweden,  and  Denmark,  and  on 
Tuesday  and  Friday  to  Holland.  Letters  arrived  in  London  every 
day  from  the  South  and  Midland  towns,  on  Monday,  Wednes- 
day, and  Friday,  from  all  parts  of  England  and  Scotland,  and  on 
Monday  and  Friday  from  Ireland  and  Wales.2  It  will  be  seen 
from  this  that  the  improvements  in  postal  communications,  which 
had  taken  place  since  the  beginning  of  the  century,  had  been  con- 
fined to  the  South  and  Midland  towns  of  England  and  to  foreign 
countries. 

With  the  foregoing  enlargement  of  postal  facilities  an  old  griev- 

remarked  that  if  Pope  had  added  another  figure,  it  would  have  represented  better  the 
"few  little  debts."  W.  Lewins,  Her  Majesty's  Mails,  pp.  104-12. 

1  Cal.  T.  B.  6*  P.,  1742-45,  pp.  102-235;  Maitland,  Survey  of  London,  p.  998; 
Noorthouck,  Hist,  of  London,  1773,  p.  658. 

2  J.  Latimer,  Annals  of  Bristol,  1893,  p.  235;  London  and  its  Environs,  1761,  v,  pp. 
209-222. 


THE  ESTABLISHMENT  AN  INSTRUMENT  OF  TAXATION    39 

ance  on  the  part  of  the  public  began  to  assume  an  acute  form. 
It  had  always  been  a  debated  question  as  to  how  far  the  post- 
masters were  responsible  for  the  delivery  of  letters.  There  was  no 
general  rule  upon  the  question  and  the  practice  varied  in  different 
parts  of  England.  Although  the  towns  on  the  post  roads  were 
fairly  well  off  as  far  as  their  letters  were  concerned,  it  was  different 
with  those  places  which  were  neither  on  the  great  roads  nor  on  the 
bye-roads  leading  off  from  them.  The  mails  for  such  places  were 
left  at  the  nearest  post  towns  and  were  conveyed  to  their  destin- 
ation by  carriers  and  messengers.  Cotton  and  Frankland  stated 
that  in  addition  to  collecting  the  regular  postage,  they  demanded 
for  this  service  an  extra  payment  of  $d.,  6d.,  and  sometimes  i2d. 
It  was  proposed  in  1699  that  the  delivery  should  be  made  by  per- 
sons appointed  to  collect  as  well  as  to  deliver  all  letters  and  parcels. 
For  this  they  were  allowed  to  take  one  penny  or  whatever  the 
people  wished  to  give  them.1  In  Sandwich  the  cross  and  bye  post 
letters  had  always  been  delivered  free,  although  a  fee  was  charged 
for  the  London  letters.  The  postmaster  there  decided  to  charge 
for  all  letters,  and  the  inhabitants  of  Sandwich  protested.  The  case 
was  carried  to  the  courts  and  the  Post  Office  lost.  Sandwich,  how- 
ever, was  a  place  where  there  had  been  a  free  delivery  of  part  of 
the  letters  at  least.  The  Postmasters- General  were  very  much  dis- 
turbed at  this  decision  and  still  more  disturbed  lest  the  courts  might 
decide  for  free  delivery  in  other  post  towns,  which  had  always  paid. 
They  resolved  to  bring  on  a  test  case.  The  town  of  Hungerford  in 
Berkshire  was  chosen,  as  it  could  be  proved  that  the  postmaster  of 
that  place  had  received  a  penny  for  each  letter  delivered  since  the 
beginning  of  the  century.  The  case  came  before  the  Court  of  King's 
Bench,  Lord  Mansfield  presiding,  and  the  Post  Office  lost  again. 
This  case  was  decided  in  1774,  and  the  next  year  the  "Liverpool 
Advertiser "  records  a  complaint  to  the  Postmasters-General 
that  there  was  only  one  letter  carrier  in  Liverpool.  The  reply 
was  that  only  one  carrier  was  maintained  in  any  provincial  town 
and  that  Liverpool  could  expect  no  better  treatment.2 

1  Col.  T.  B.,  1697-1702,  Ixiv,  17;  ibid.,  1702-07,  Ixxxvi,  134. 

2  E.  Green,  Bibliotheca  Somersetensis,  1902,  i,  p.  108;  Joyce,  pp.  107-108;  Latimer, 
Annals  of  Bristol,  p.  416. 


40        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

At  the  same  time  that  the  Post  Office  received  this  adverse  de- 
cision it  had  begun  to  suffer  severely  from  the  illegal  carriage  of 
letters  by  the  post  coaches.  These  post  coaches  were  so  called 
merely  because  they  were  most  numerous  on  the  post  roads.  John 
Palmer,  the  proprietor  of  a  theatre  in  Bath,  pointed  out  to  the 
Postmasters-General  that  the  coaches  were  speedier  and  cheaper 
than  the  post  boys  who  carried  the  mails  on  horseback  and  proposed 
that  he  should  be  allowed  to  establish  mail  coaches  and  thus  save 
the  postage  on  letters  illegally  carried  by  the  post  coaches.  His 
coaches  were  to  be  protected  by  a  guard,  presumably  a  retired  sol- 
dier, who  was  to  be  armed  with  two  guns  and  to  sit  facing  the  road 
in  front  of  him.  The  driver  was  to  carry  pistols.  No  outside  passen- 
gers were  to  be  carried,  since  they  impeded  the  guard  in  per- 
forming his  duties.  The  speed  was  to  be  not  less  than  eight  or 
nine  miles  an  hour,  twice  as  fast  as  the  post  boys  travelled.  In 
addition  the  mails  were  to  leave  London  at  8  P.M.  instead  of  after 
midnight.  The  coaches  were  all  to  leave  London  together  and  re- 
turn together  as  far  as  possible.  To  insure  this  they  were  not  to 
wait  for  government  letters  when  the  latter  were  delayed.1 

The  first  mail  coach  ran  between  London  and  Bristol  in  1784. 
It  was  furnished  by  contractors  at  a  cost  of  $d.  a  mile.  This  was 
the  initial  cost,  however,  and  by  1797,  the  rate  had  been  reduced 
to  a  penny  a  mile  each  way.  In  the  early  part  of  August,  1 784,  there 
was  only  one  mail  coach.  At  the  end  of  the  same  month,  coaches 
went  to  Norwich,  Nottingham,  Liverpool,  and  Manchester.  During 
the  next  year  they  were  sent  to  Leeds,  Gloucester,  Swansea,  Here- 
ford, Milford,  Worcester,  Birmingham,  Shrewsbury,  Holyhead, 
Exeter,  Portsmouth,  and  other  places.  In  1786  they  ran  between 
London  and  Edinburgh.  In  1797  there  were  forty-two  mail  coach 
routes  established,  connecting  sixty  of  the  most  important  towns 
in  the  kingdom,  as  well  as  intermediate  places.  These  coaches 
travelled  a  total  distance  of  4110  miles  and  cost  the  Government 
£12,416  a  year,  only  half  the  sum  paid  for  post  horses  and  rid- 
ers under  the  old  system.  The  coaches  made  daily  journeys  over 
nearly  two  thirds  of  the  total  distance  traversed  and  tri-weekly 
journeys  over  something  less  than  one  third  the  total  distance.  The 

1  D.  N.  B.,  xliii,  p.  140;  Knight,  London,  1842,  iii,  p.  280. 


THE  ESTABLISHMENT  AN  INSTRUMENT  OF  TAXATION    41 

remainder  travelled  one,  two,  four,  and  six  times  a  week.  The  result 
of  the  establishment  of  these  mail  coaches  was  summed  up  by  a 
Parliamentary  committee  in  the  following  words:  "They  have 
lessened  the  chance  of  robbery,  diminished  the  need  for  special 
messengers  and  expresses,  and  now  carry  the  letters  formerly  sent 
by  post  coaches." 1 

Palmer  had  been  appointed  Controller- General  of  the  Post 
Office  and  had  chosen  as  his  assistant  a  man  by  the  name  of  Bonner. 
Palmer  himself  was  of  a  violent  and  headstrong  disposition,  and  as 
ill-luck  would  have  it,  Walsingham,  one  of  the  Postmasters- Gen- 
eral, was  as  masterful  as  himself.  Palmer  considered  that  his  office 
was  outside  the  scope  of  Walsingham's  authority,  and  although  he 
failed  in  making  his  position  absolutely  free  from  the  control  of  the 
Postmasters-General,  yet  he  heeded  them  as  little  as  possible.  He 
organized  a  newspaper  department  without  consulting  his  superi- 
ors and  paid  no  attention  to  them  when  an  explanation  was  asked. 
He  stirred  up  the  London  merchants  to  complain  about  the  late 
delivery  of  their  letters,  a  delay  which  he  had  probably  brought 
about  intentionally.'  A  mail  coach  had  been  ordered  by  Walsing- 
ham to  carry  the  King's  private  despatches  while  His  Majesty  was 
taking  the  waters  at  Cheltenham.  This  was  done  without  con- 
sulting Palmer,  who  was  so  indignant  that  he  persuaded  the  con- 
tractor to  send  in  an  enormous  bill  for  supplying  the  coach.  All 
this  came  out  through  the  treachery  of  Bonner,  who  owed  his  ad- 
vancement entirely  to  the  friend  whom  he  betrayed.  He  went  so 
far  as  to  hand  over  to  the  Postmasters-General  the  private  letters 
which  Palmer  had  written  him.  Palmer  was  dismissed  in  1792  with 
a  pension.2 

At  the  time  of  Palmer's  appointment,  a  Treasury  warrant  had 
been  issued  for  the  payment  to  him  of  £1500  a  year  and  2  per  cent 
of  the  increase  from  the  Post  Office  revenue,  but  this  warrant  had 
been  pronounced  illegal  by  the  Attorney-General.  Through  Pitt's 
influence,  Palmer  finally  obtained  £1500  a  year  and  2  per  cent  on 
any  increase  in  net  revenue  over  £240,000  a  year.  Palmer  objected 

1  Parl  Papers,  1812-13,  Rep.  Com.,  ii,  pp.  4,  36,  37,  98;  Fin.  Rep.,  1797,  no.  7, 
p.  114;  D.  N.  B.,  xliii,  p.  140. 
^  2  Fin.  Rep.,  1797,  no.  7,  pp.  82-83;  Joyce,  pp.  251,  275. 


42   THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

to  this  on  the  ground  that  the  old  net  revenue  was  only  £150,000  a 
year,  but  Pitt  replied  that  the  increased  rates  of  1784  would  pro- 
duce at  least  £90,000.  It  is  improbable,  however,  that  the  new 
rates  produced  the  increase  estimated.  In  1797  Palmer  presented 
a  petition  to  the  House  of  Commons,  asking  for  the  arrears 
due  him  according  to  his  method  of  estimating  the  increase  in 
net  revenue,  upon  which  his  percentage  was  due.  He  said  that 
before  his  system  was  introduced  the  gross  product  of  the  Post 
Office  was  decreasing  at  the  rate  of  £13,000  a  year.  This  was  not 
true.  He  claimed  that  the  increase  after  1784  was  wholly  due 
tojhis  own  reforms,  taking  no  account  of  the  increased  rates  and 
the  industrial  expansion  of  England.  No  action  was  taken  by 
Parliament.1 

One  of  the  arguments  advanced  by  Palmer  for  the  use  of  mail 
coaches  was  their  security  against  robbers.  Previous  to  and  during 
the  rebellion  of  1745  numerous  attempts  were  made  to  rob  the 
mails,  and  many  of  them  were  successful.  These  robberies  occurred 
principally  at  night.  It  was  said  that  the  mails  were  carried  by  boys 
not  always  of  the  best  character,  and  that  very  often  they  were  in 
league  with  the  robbers.  The  Postmasters- General  asked  for  sol- 
diers to  patrol  the  roads  where  these  robberies  were  the  most  fre- 
quent. This  was  the  method  which  Cromwell  had  used  to  protect 
the  mails.  The  request  does  not  seem  to  have  been  granted,  but  in 
1765  the  death  penalty  was  imposed  for  robbing  the  mail  and  for 
stealing  a  letter  containing  a  bank  note  or  bill.  Any  post  boy  de- 
serting the  mail  or  allowing  any  one  but  the  guard  to  ride  on  the 
horse  or  carriage  with  the  mails  was  liable  to  commitment  to  hard 
labour.2  Palmer's  prediction  was  fulfilled  by  the  comparative 
safety  with  which  the  mails  were  carried  after  his  coaches  had  come 
into  use. 

Charles,  Earl  of  Tankerville,  and  Lord  Carteret  had  been  the 
Postmasters-General  in  1782  and  1783.  On  the  fall  of  Shelburne's 
ministry  in  the  latter  year,  Tankerville  left  the  Post  Office,  but 
Carteret  still  remained.  So  far  these  two  men  had  worked  to- 

i    l  Fin.  Rep.,  1797,  no.  7,  p.  127;  Jo.  H.  C.,  1796-97*  P-  S^i. 

2  Cal.  T.  B.  &  P.,  1739-41,  p.  234;  5  Geo.  Ill,  c.  25.  The  Post  Office  occasionally 
made  good  the  loss  of  valuables  from  theft  or  robbery,  but  as  a  rule  refused  to  do  so. 
Cal.  T.  P.,  1729-30,  P-  75J  Cal.  T.  B.  &•  P.,  1731-34,  P-  74- 


THE  ESTABLISHMENT  AN  INSTRUMENT  OF  TAXATION    43 

gether  fairly  well,  although  Tanker vi lie  had  a  suspicion  that  his 
colleague  had  been  engaged  in  some  doubtful  transactions.  In 
1784,  when  Pitt  became  Prime  Minister,  Tankerville  was  restored 
to  his  old  office.  In  the  same  year  a  transaction  came  under  his 
notice  which  aroused  his  suspicion.  A  Mr.  Lees  had  been  appointed 
Secretary  of  the  Irish  Post  Office.  The  man  who  had  held  this  posi- 
tion was  made  agent  of  the  Dover  packet  boats,  the  old  agent  hav- 
ing been  superannuated.  The  new  agent  agreed  to  pay  to  his  pred- 
ecessor the  full  amount  of  the  salary  coming  to  the  place,  while  he 
himself  was  to  be  paid  by  Mr.  Lees  the  total  salary  coming  to  the 
Secretary  in  Ireland.  So  far  there  was  nothing  uncommon  about 
the  arrangement.  The  unusual  part  of  the  agreement  and  the  part 
which  attracted  Tankerville's  attention  was  Lees'  promise  to  pay 
the  money  to  "A.  B.,"  an  unknown  person,  after  the  old  agent's 
death.  Suspicion  pointed  to  Carteret  as  the  man  to  whom  the 
money  was  to  be  paid.  Lees  himself  denied  this,  but  did  not  say 
who  " A.  B."  was.1 

In  1787  a  Mr.  Staunton,  the  postmaster  of  Islesworth,  a  position 
worth  £400  a  year,  was  in  addition  appointed  Controller  and  Resi- 
dent Surveyor  of  the  Bye  and  Cross  Posts,  to  which  was  attached 
a  salary  of  £500,  coals  and  candles  and  a  house.  The  First  Lord  of 
the  Treasury  proposed  that  the  house  should  not  go  with  the  office, 
and  Carteret  decided  that  Staunton  should  receive  an  extra  £100 
a  year  in  lieu  of  the  house.  Tankerville  refused  to  agree  to  this,  and 
the  contention  became  so  warm  that  the  whole  matter  was  referred 
to  Pitt,  who,  rather  than  lose  Carteret's  political  support,  dismissed 
Tankerville.2  Tankerville  at  once  demanded  an  investigation, 
which  was  granted.  The  results  showed  the  Post  Office  to  be  in 
a  deplorable  state.  Tankerville  was  completely  exonerated,  but 
failed  to  obtain  much  sympathy  on  account  of  the  violence  of  his 
attack  upon  Pitt  and  Carteret.  It  came  out  in  the  investigation 
that "  A.  B. "  was  a  foreigner  named  Treves,  who  had  no  claim  on  the 
Post  Office  or  any  other  department  of  the  government  except  that 
he  was  a  friend  of  Carteret.  Carteret  himself  knew  the  condition 
of  his  appointment,  but  had  done  nothing  except  to  express  himself 
displeased  with  the  whole  arrangement.  A  payment  of  £200  a  year 
1  Jo.  H.  C.,  1787,  p.  800.  *  Ibid.,  1787,  p.  800. 


44   THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

had  also  been  exacted  from  Mr.  Dashwood,  Postmaster- General 
of  Jamaica,  as  the  condition  of  his  appointment,  and  that  too  had 
gone  to  Treves.  The  agent  at  Helvoetsluys  had  been  allowed  by 
Carteret  to  sell  his  position  to  a  man  as  incapable  as  himself.  Staun- 
ton's  office  had  been  abolished  soon  after  his  appointment,  and  he 
had  been  allowed  to  retire  at  the  age  of  forty  years  with  a  pension 
of  £600  a  year  in  the  face  of  the  rule  that  officers  of  an  advanced 
age  and  after  long  service  were  allowed  upon  retirement  to  receive 
only  two  thirds  of  their  salaries.1 

The  Postmasters-General  had  received  in  1783,  in  addition  to 
their  salaries,  over  £900  for  coals.  They  had  also  received  £694  for 
candles  during  two  years  and  a  half  and  £150  for  tinware  for  the 
same  period.  Tankerville  had  taken  his  share  of  these  perquisites, 
but  it  is  only  fair  to  add  that  Carteret's  emoluments  exceeded  his 
by  £213  for  the  periods  under  consideration.  It  had  become  cus- 
tomary to  receive  a  money  payment  in  place  of  a  large  part  of  their 
supplies.  In  1782  the  total  sum  going  to  the  officials  of  the  Gen- 
eral Office  amounted  to  £28,431,  of  which  sum  about  £10,000  were 
placed  under  the  heading  of  emoluments  other  than  salaries.2  Of 
all  the  departments  of  the  Post  Office,  the  Sailing  Packet  Service 
was  the  one  most  in  need  of  reform. 

The  light,  which  was  then  let  in  among  the  dark  places  of  the 
Post  Office,  had  a  most  excellent  effect.  Acting  on  the  report  fur- 
nished by  the  committee  of  the  House,  a  new  establishment  was 
effected  in  1793.  The  reforms  were  approved  by  the  Postmasters- 
General  and  carried  out  under  the  direction  of  the  Lords  of  the 
Treasury.  The  good  work  had  been  begun  in  1784  by  Palmer.  He 
had  appointed  additional  clerks,  letter  carriers,  surveyors  and 
messengers,  had  established  new  offices,  and  had  increased  the  in- 
adequate pay  of  minor  officials.  This  had  entailed  an  increase  of 
£19,022  in  expenses  in  the  General  and  Penny  Posts,  but  the  in- 
crease was  justified  by  increased  efficiency  and  by  larger  returns 
from  the  conveyance  of  letters.  Of  the  total  increase,  £11,451  had 
been  spent  on  the  General  Office  and  £7571  on  the  Penny  Post,  to 
which  had  been  added  eighty-six  more  letter  carriers  for  London 

1  Jo.  H.  C.,  1787,  p.  800. 
•  •  Fin.  Rep.,  1797,  no.  7,  pp.  82-83;  Jo.  H.  C,,  1787,  p.  817. 


THE  ESTABLISHMENT  AN  INSTRUMENT  OF  TAXATION   45 

and  seventy-eight  more  for  the  suburbs,  as  well  as  some  supernum- 
erary carriers.1  The  reforms  introduced  in  1793  may  be  grouped 
under  three  heads:  regulations  respecting  fees  and  emoluments, 
abolition  of  some  offices  and  an  increase  in  officers  and  clerks  in 
others;  regulation  of  official  business.  The  regulations  respecting 
fees  and  emoluments  were  necessarily  negative  in  their  character. 
The  most  important  were  as  follows:  The  postmasters  were  no 
longer  to  pay  fees  to  the  Postmasters-General  on  the  renewal  of  the 
bonds  given  by  their  securities.  The  two  per  cent  allowed  to  the 
Scotch  Deputy  Postmaster- General  on  all  remittances  from  Scot- 
land was  discontinued  and  a  compensation  for  life  was  granted  in- 
stead. The  fees  for  tinware  were  abolished,  and  the  pension  to  the 
New  York  agent  was  to  cease.  No  postal  official  was  allowed  to  own 
shares  in  the  sailing  packets,  and  with  a  few  minor  exceptions  all 
salaries  were  henceforth  to  be  in  lieu  of  every  emolument  or  fee.2 

A  number  of  sinecure  and  useless  offices  were  abolished.  The 
chief  among  them  were :  Jamineau's  perquisite  office  which  had 
the  monopoly  of  selling  newspapers  to  the  "  Clerks  of  the  Roads,"  the 
Secretary's  position  as  agent  for  the  packets,  the  Controller  of 
the  Bye  and  Cross  Posts,  the  Inspector  of  Dead  Letters  in  the  Bye 
Letter  Office,  the  Collector  in  the  Bye  Letter  Office,  the  Secretary 
of  the  Foreign  Office,  and  the  Controller  of  the  Inland  Office.3 

The  changes  in  business  regulations  were  as  follows:  The  Post- 
masters-General were  no  longer  to  include  legal  charges,  chaise 
hire,  and  pensions  under  the  head  of  dead  letters.  The  Postmasters- 
General's  warrant  must  be  entered  previous  to  any  money  being 
paid.  The  payment  of  debts  must  be  enforced.  The  West  India 
accounts  should  be  sent  to  the  deputy  there  every  quarter.  The 
payments  to  mail  coach  contractors  must  be  made  directly  by 
warrant  instead  of  through  the  Controller-General.  No  change  was 
made  in  the  anomalous  position  of  the  Accountant-General.  He 
was  supposed  to  be  a  check  upon  the  Receiver-General,  but  had  to 
depend  upon  the  Receiver-General's  books  for  verifying  the  remit- 
tances from  the  deputies.4 
.  The  Englishman's  belief  in  the  sanctity  of  vested  interests  has 

'  *  Fin.  Rep.,  1797,  no,  7,  pp.  3,  66-83.  *  Ibid.,  no,  7,  pp.  S2~6S-      * 

8  Ibid.,  no.  7,  pp.  52-65.  •  Ibid.t  no.  7,  pp.  8,  52-65.  , 


46       THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

usually  been  too  strong  to  permit  any  abridgment  of  rights  or 
privileges  without  compensation.  Those  postal  officials  who  had 
been  dismissed  or  whose  sinecure  offices  had  been  abolished  were 
not  to  be  turned  entirely  adrift.  Provision  was  made  for  pensioning 
most  of  them.  Before  the  reform  the  total  sum  paid  by  the  Post 
Office  in  pensions  was  £1500.  The  incumbrances  dismissed  were 
allowed  £6101,  and  between  1793  and  1797  £1475  more  were 
added  to  the  pension  list.  It  was  pointed  out  at  the  time  that  it  was 
far  better  to  pension  them  off  and  leave  them  to  die  than  to  con- 
tinue them  in  service.  In  1797  it  was  a  relief  to  be  able  to  announce 
"  that  already  £648  had  been  saved  from  dead  and  promoted  pen- 
sioners." l 

The  report  of  the  committee  which  had  been  appointed  at  Tank- 
erville's  suggestion  is  silent  on  the  question  of  the  opening  and  de- 
tention of  letters.  It  had  been  provided  by  the  act  of  1711  that  no 
letters  should  be  opened  or  detained  except  under  protection  of  an 
express  warrant  from  one  of  the  Secretaries  of  State.  The  Royal 
Commission  of  1844  reported  that  from  1712  to  1798,  the  number 
of  warrants  so  issued  was  101,  excluding  those  which  were  well 
known  or  easily  ascertained.  The  Secretary  of  State  for  the  Inland 
Department  issued  most  of  them.  From  1798  to  1844,  372  war- 
rants were  issued,  many  of  them  being  general  warrants  and  often 
for  very  trivial  causes.  At  the  trial  of  Bishop  Atterbury,  the  princi- 
pal witnesses  against  him  were  Post  Office  clerks,rwho  had  opened 
and  copied  letters  to  and  from  him,  under  warrant  from  one  of  the 
Secretaries.2 

;  In  addition  to  this  regular  method  for  intercepting  letters,  a 
particular  department  had  been  in  existence  for  some  time  with 
no  other  duties  than  to  examine  letters.  Strictly  speaking  it  had 
nothing  to  do  with  the  Post  Office  and  was  supported  entirely  from 
the  "Secret  Service  Fund."  The  truth  about  it  came  out  in  the 
examination  of  the  conduct  of  Sir  Robert  Walpole  by  the  "  Com- 
mittee of  Secrecy."  From  1732  to  1742,  £45,675  had  been  spent 
upon  this  department.  It  had  originated  in  1718  and  the  expenses 

1  Fin.  Rep.,  no.  7,  p.  130. 

2  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  xiv,  pp.  9-11;  app.,  p.  105  (78);  app.,  p.  107  (79);  app.,  p.  in 
(83). 


THE  ESTABLISHMENT  AN  INSTRUMENT  OF  TAXATION    47 

for  that  year  were  only  £446,  but  by  1742  they  had  increased  more 
than  tenfold.  The  Secretary  of  the  Post  Office  in  giving  his  evidence 
before  the  committee,  said  that  this  office  received  instructions 
from  the  Secretaries  of  State  and  reported  to  them.  The  working 
force  consisted  of  a  chief  decipherer,  assisted  by  his  son  and  three 
other  decipherers,  five  clerks,  the  Controller  of  the  Foreign  Office, 
a  doorkeeper  and  a  former  alphabet  keeper.  Either  considerable 
business  was  transacted  there  or  it  was  a  retreat  for  useless  officials.1 

An  account  is  given  in  Ho  well's  "  State  Trials  "  of  the  trial  of 
Hensey  and  of  the  practice  then  in  vogue  for  finding  treasonable 
correspondence.  His  letters  were  handed  over  for  investigation  to 
the  Secretary  of  State  by  a  Post  Office  clerk.  This  clerk  in  giving 
his  evidence  said  that  when  war  was  declared  against  any  nation, 
the  Postmasters- General  issued  orders  at  once  to  stop  all  sus- 
pected letters.  These  orders  were  given  to  all  the  Post  Office  clerks 
and  letter  carriers.  Such  instructions  can  only  be  justified  as  a 
war  measure,  for  the  act  of  1711  had  provided  that  no  letter 
should  be  detained  or  opened  unless  by  express  warrant  from  one 
of  the  Secretaries  of  State  for  every  such  detention  or  opening.2 

We  find  very  few  complaints  about  the  opening  of  letters  during 
the  second  half  of  the  eighteenth  century.  On  the  other  hand  it 
must  be  confessed  that  letters  were  at  times  opened  and  searched 
merely  to  learn  the  beliefs  and  plans  of  political  opponents.  It  is 
difficult  to  determine  to  how  great  an  extent  this  practice  was 
prevalent  as  there  seems  little  doubt  that  the  complainants  may 
occasionally  have  been  prompted  by  their  own  vanity  to  believe 
that  their  correspondence  had  been  tampered  with.3  In  1795,  dur- 
ing the  great  war  with  France,  the  Government  ordered  all  letters 
directed  to  the  United  Provinces  to  be  detained.  The  question 
then  was,  what  was  to  be  done  with  them?  None  of  them  seems  to 
have  been  opened  and  the  cause  for  their  detention  was  only  to 
prevent  any  information  being  given  to  the  enemy.  Accordingly 

1  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  xiv,  app.,  p.  112  (84);  Cal.  T.  B.  &•  P.,  1742-45,  p.  669. 

2  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  xiv,  app.,  p.  112  (85);  Howell,  State  Trials,  xix,  col.  1369.  This 
was  in  1758. 

*  Joyce  is  of  opinion  that  such  practices  were  very  common.  So  also  is  May  (T.  E. 
May,  Constitutional  History  of  England,  1882,  iii,  pp.  44-49;  D.  B.  Eaton,  Civil  Service 
in  Great  Britain,  New  York,  1880,  p.  115). 


48        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

by  an  act  of  Parliament  passed  in  the  same  year,  the  Post  Office  was 
empowered  to  return  them  to  the  writers.1 

Although  the  larger  part  of  the  fees  and  emoluments  enjoyed  by 
the  postal  officials  had  been  abolished  in  1793,  the  proceeds  from 
those  which  were  left  continued  to  increase  steadily.  By  far  the 
most  lucrative  was  the  privilege  of  franking  newspapers,  within  the 
kingdom,  to  the  colonies,  and  to  foreign  countries.  Ever  since  news- 
papers had  been  printed,  the  "Clerks  of  the  Roads"  had  been  al- 
lowed to  send  them  to  any  part  of  the  kingdom  without  paying 
postage.  After  1763,  when  members  of  Parliament  were  allowed 
the  same  privilege,  every  one  felt  at  liberty  to  make  use  of  a  mem- 
ber's frank  for  this  purpose,  and  the  Clerks  suffered  accordingly. 
Newspapers  to  the  Colonies  were  franked  by  the  Secretary  of  the 
Post  Office  and  produced  a  revenue  of  £3700  in  1817,  all  of  which 
went  to  Sir  Francis  Freeling  who  was  then  Secretary.  In  1825  the 
privilege  of  franking  papers  within  the  kingdom  and  to  the  colo- 
nies was  withdrawn,  but  compensation  was  granted  to  Sir  Francis.2 
This  did  not  end  the  trouble,  for  the  Clerks  still  acted  as  newspaper 
venders.  On  account  of  their  official  position  they  were  able  to  post 
them  until  8  P.M.,  while  the  regular  newsvenders  were  allowed  to 
do  so  only  until  5  P.M.  at  the  Lombard  Street  Office  and  6  P.M.  at 
the  General  Office  or  they  must  pay  a  special  fee  of  a  halfpenny  on 
each.3  Mr.  Hume,  the  member  for  Montrose,  brought  the  case  be- 
fore the  House,  and  in  1834  all  Post  Office  officials  were  forbidden 
to'sell  newspapers.  At  the  same  time  the  officials  in  the  Foreign 
Office  lost  the  right  to  frank  papers  to  any  foreign  country.4 

The  members  of  the  Secretary's  office  had,  since  1799  and  1801, 
issued  two  official  publications,  which  paid  no  postage.  These  were 
called  the  "Packet  List"  and  the  "Shipping  List."  The  first  of 
these  contained  all  the  intelligence  received  at  the  Post  Office 
concerning  the  sailing  packets.  The  second  contained  information 
about  private  vessels,  furnished  principally  by  "Lloyds."  The 
Commissioners  commented  upon  this  practice  in  very  uncompli- 

»  35  Geo.  HI,  c.  62. 

8  Rep.  Commrs.,  1829,  xi,  pp.  215-222. 

8  London  Times,  1829,  Oct.  6,  p.  2;  ibid.,  1832,  March  14,  p.  i. 

4  ParL  Deb.,  3d  ser.,  xxiv,  col.  875. 


THE  ESTABLISHMENT  AN  INSTRUMENT  OF  TAXATION    49 

mentary  language.1  In  addition,  the  members  of  the  Secretary's 
department  received  fees  on  the  deputations  granted  to  new 
postmasters  in  England  and  Wales,  upon  commissions  granted  to 
agents  and  postmasters  abroad,  upon  private  expresses  to  and  from 
London,  and  upon  news  supplied  to  the  London  press  during  a 
general  election.2  In  1837  the  fees  on  deputations  and  commissions 
were  abolished,  private  expresses  were  discontinued,  the  "  Shipping 
List"  was  discontinued,  and  the  "Packet  List"  passed  from  the 
control  of  the  Post  Office.  The  revenue  from  these  fees  in  the  Sec- 
retary's Office  which  were  still  continued  was  to  go  henceforth  to 
the  general  revenue.3 

An  extra  charge  of  6d.  was  demanded  upon  letters  posted  be- 
tween 7  P.M.  and  8  P.M.  This  had  been  the  rule  since  1800,  and  the 
proceeds  went  either  to  the  Inland  or  Foreign  Office.  So  also  did 
the  registration  fees  on  ships'  letters.  These  fees  were  transferred 
to  the  general  revenue  in  i837.4  In  1827  the  total  amount  received 
in  fees,  emoluments,  and  gratuities  by  the  officials  in  the  London 
Office  was  £23,100,  by  agents  and  country  postmasters  £16,500. 
Most  of  these  were  either  abolished  or  transferred  to  the  general 
revenue  in  i837.5 

The  distinguishing  feature  of  the  Post  Office  during  the  eight- 
eenth century  was  the  extension  of  its  service,  which  accompanied 
the  industrial  expansion'of  the  kingdom.  The  abuses  which  natur- 
ally flourish  during  a  prosperous  period  had  beenlargely  remedied 
by  the  reform  of  1793.  The  nation's  need  for  a  larger  revenue  led 
not  only  to  a  great  increase  in  postage  rates  but  also  to  stricter  eco- 
nomy in  the  organization  of  the  Post  Office.  The  London  and  Dublin 
Penny  Posts  were  reformed  and  extended,  the  work  of  the  General 
and  Penny  Posts  in  London  was  harmonized,  the  employees  were 
increased,  and  the  new  departments  which  had  been  established 
were  reformed  and  consolidated. 

The  Newspaper  Office  which  had  been  illegally  established  by 

1  Ace.  6*  P.,  1817,  pp.  4-16;  Rep.  Commrs.,  1837,  xxxiv,  8th  rep.  app.,  nos.  12, 
*3, 14. 

8  Ibid.,  1837,  xxxiv,  8th  rep.,  app.,  no.  12. 

»  Ace.  &•  P.,  1837-38,  xlv,  265,  p.  5. 

*  Rep.  Commrs.,  1837,  xxxiv,  8th  rep.,  app.,  no.  3. 

6  Rep.  Commrs.,  1829,  xi,  p.  214. 


50        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

Palmer  was  continued  after  his  dismissal.  Walsingham  had  ob- 
jected to  it  on  the  ground  that  Palmer  had  no  right  to  appoint  any 
officials  without  his  consent.  Previously  all  newspapers  had  been 
forwarded  to  the  postmasters  free  of  postage  by  the ' '  Clerks  of  the 
Roads."  Now  that  they  might  be  sent  with  the  letters,  they  were 
brought  in  at  the  last  moment  still  wet  from  the  press  so  that  they 
defaced  the  writing  on  the  letters  sent  in  the  same  bag.1  In  1784  a 
Dead  Letter  Office  was  also  established.  Previously,  dead  and  mis- 
sent  letters  had  been  handed  to  a  clerk  in  the  General  Office.  Dur- 
ing Allen's  farm  of  the  cross  and  bye  post  letters,  missent  letters 
were  no  longer  forwarded  to  London,  but  any  postmaster,  into 
whose  hands  they  came,  was  instructed  to  place  them  on  the  right 
track.2  Four  years  later  a  third  office  was  instituted,  a  Money 
Order  Office.  No  order  could  be  issued  for  more  than  five  guineas 
and  the  fee  for  that  sum  was  45.  6 d.  It  was  started  as  a  private  spec- 
ulation by  some  of  the  postal  officials  and  so  remained  until  1838 
when  it  was  taken  over  by  the  General  Post  Office.3 

The  policy  of  the  Post  Office  with  reference  to  the  registration  of 
letters  containing  valuables  varied  with  the  nature  of  the  enclosure 
and  the  manner  in  which  it  was  sent.  On  ships'  letters  sent  from 
England,  the  registration  fee  was  one  guinea,  and  a  receipt  was 
given  to  the  person  sending  a  registered  letter.  The  fee  for  a  letter 
coming  into  the  kingdom  was  only  55. 4  If  bank  notes  were  enclosed 
in  a  letter,  it  received  no  special  attention  from  the  Post  Office. 
If  gold  or  silver  was  sent  in  a  letter  marked  "  money  letter/'  the 
postmaster  placed  it  in  a  separate  envelope  and  made  a  special 
entry  on  the  way  bill,  which  was  repeated  at  every  office  it  passed 
through.  No  special  fee  was  charged  for  the  extra  attention  be- 
stowed upon  these  letters  until  1835  when  the  Postmaster-General 
was  allowed  to  charge  a  fee  for  their  registration  in  addition  to  the 
ordinary  postage.5  The  Money  Order  Department,  still  a  private 
undertaking,  had  its  fees  reduced  from  6d.  to  3 d.  on  sums  not  ex- 

1  Parl.  Papers,  1812-13,  Rep.  Com.,  ii,  p.  87. 

2  Fin.  Rep.,  1797,  no.  7,  pp.  82-83. 

3  W.  Thornbury,  Old  and  New  London,  ii,  p.  212. 

4  Rep.  Commrs.,  1837,  xxxiv,  8th  rep.,  app.,  no.  3. 

6  London  Times,  1832,  Apr.  27,  p.  3;  5  and  6  Wm.  IV,  c.  25;  3  and  4  Viet.,  c. 
96. 


THE  ESTABLISHMENT  AN  INSTRUMENT  OF  TAXATION    51 

ceeding  £2  and  from  iSd.  to  6d.  on  sums  exceeding  £2  but  not 
more  than  £5.1 

i  At  the  same  time  that  the  General  Post  was  being  reformed,  a 
former  letter  carrier  by  the  name  of  Johnson  was  improving  the 
Penny  Post.  The  six  principal  receiving-houses  which  Dockwra  had 
instituted  had  been  reduced  to  five  and  were  now  still  further  re- 
duced to  two.  The  subsidiary  receiving-houses  in  the  shops  and 
coffee-houses  were  increased  and  the  number  of  letter  carriers  more 
than  doubled.  Six  regular  deliveries  for  the  city  proper  and  three 
for  the  suburbs  were  introduced.  Before  1793  the  deliveries  in  the 
city  had  not  been  made  at  the  same  time,  for  the  carriers  had  to  go 
to  one  of  the  main  receiving-houses  to  get  their  letters.  The  deliv- 
eries were  now  made  as  near  the  same  time  as  possible  all  over  the 
city  and  the  delivery  hours  were  posted  so  that  people  might  know 
when  to  expect  the  carriers  and  thus  act  as  a  check  upon  them. 
Mounted  messengers  conveyed  the  letters  to  those  carriers  who 
delivered  in  distant  parts  of  the  city.2 

In  1794  an  act  was  passed  "  to  regulate  the  postage  and  convey- 
ance of  letters  by  the  carriage  called  the  Penny  Post."  The  rate  for 
letters  posted  in  London,  Westminster,  Southwark  and  the  sub- 
urbs for  any  place  within  these  places  and  their  suburbs  remained 
one  penny.  Letters  sent  from  these  places  to  any  place  outside  paid 
2d.  as  before.  Hitherto  letters  sent  from  outside  to  London,West- 
minster,  Southwark  and  the  suburbs  had  paid  only  one  penny. 
This  was  raised  by  the  act  of  1794  to  id.  It  was  also  provided  that 
the  postage  for  Penny  Post  letters  need  not  be  paid  in  advance. 
This  would  increase  the  expense  but  the  idea  was  probably  to 
secure  greater  safety  in  the  delivery  of  letters.  Finally,  the  surplus 
revenue  at  the  end  of  each  quarter  was  to  be  considered  part  of  the 
revenue  of  the  General  Post.3 

The  changes  introduced  by  Johnson  and  the  act  of  1794  were  in 
the  right  direction.  This  seems  a  reasonable  conclusion  not  so  much 
on  account  of  the  increase  in  net  product,  which  was  not  great,  as 
on  account  of  the  increase  in  gross  product,  showing  that  the  num- 

1  London  Times,  1837,  Jan.  26,  p.  5;  Dec.  13,  p.  4;  Ace.  &•  P.,  1841,  xxvi,  221, 
no.  6. 

2  Joyce,  p.  302;  Fin.  Rep.,  1797,  no.  7,  p.  83.      8  34  Geo.  Ill,  c.  17. 


52        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

ber  of  letters  and  parcels  sent  by  the  Penny  Post  had  doubled.  The 
financial  condition  of  the  Penny  Post  before  and  after  the  reform 
is  shown  by  the  following  figures: — 

Average  Yearly  Average  Yearly  Average  Yearly 

Gross  Product  Expense  Net  Product 

1790-1794                  £11,089  £5289  £6000 

1795-1797                  £26,283  £18,960  £7323  ! 

London  was  not  the  only  place  which  could  boast  a  Penny 
Post  in  1793.  The  system  was  extended  in  that  year  to  Edinburgh, 
Manchester,  Bristol,  and  Birmingham,  while  Dublin  had  been  so 
favoured  since  1773.  It  is  almost  unnecessary  to  add  that  in  all 
these  places,  it  was  a  pronounced  success  from  a  financial  and  social 
point  of  view.2 

In  1801  the  London  Penny  Post  which  had  lasted  for  120  years 
was  practically  swept  out  of  existence,  for  2d.  was  then  charged 
where  a  penny  had  formerly  been  the  rate.  An  exception  was  made 
in  the  case  of  letters  passing  first  by  the  General  Post,  for  on  these 
the  old  rate  still  held.3  Four  years  later,  the  limits  of  the  Two- 
penny Post,  as  it  was  called,  were  restricted  to  the  General  Post 
Delivery  and  $d.  was  charged  for  letters  crossing  the  bounds  of  this 
delivery.  This  was  called  the  Threepenny  Post.4  The  effect  of  the 
increased  rates  and  the  growth  of  population  in  the  metropolis  is 
shown  by  the  increase  in  gross  receipts,  which  rose  from  £11,768  in 
1703  to  £96,089  in  1816  and  to  £105,052  in  1823.  During  the  same 
period,  the  number  of  letter  carriers  was  increased  from  181  to  235, 
and  nineteen  officials  were  added  to  the  establishment.5 

Although  the  General,  the  Twopenny,  and  the  Threepenny  Posts, 
were  all  under  one  management,  no  attempt  was  made  to  harmonize 
their  methods  of  procedure  until  1831.  Letters  for  the  General  Post 
were  often  entrusted  to  the  Twopenny  Post  but  the  receiving-houses 
of  both  Posts  were  frequently  established  in  the  same  street  and 
close  together.  The  General  Post  had  seventy  receiving-houses  in 
the  city,  the  Twopenny  Post  209,  the  Threepenny  Post  200  more  in 

1  Parl.  Papers,  1812-13,  Rep.  Com.,  ii,  p.  94.     2  Joyce,  pp.  196,  300. 
*  41  Geo.  Ill,  c.  7.  *  45  Geo.  Ill,  c.  n. 

6  Ace.  6*  P.,  1817,  pp.  15,  16;  Rep.  Commrs.,  1829,  xi,  pp.  10, 136. 


THE  ESTABLISHMENT  AN  INSTRUMENT  OF  TAXATION    53 

the  suburbs  and  adjoining  country.  In  addition  there  were  no 
"bellmen"  who  collected  letters  from  door  to  door,  ringing  their 
bells  as  they  went.  They  charged  one  penny  for  each  letter  col- 
lected.1 The  General  Post  receiving-houses  closed  at  7  P.M.,  the 
Twopenny  receiving-houses  at  8  P.M.,  but  letters  might  be  posted 
at  the  Charing  Cross  Office  until  8.30  and  at  the  General  Office 
until  9  P.M.2  At  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century,  there 
were  three  deliveries,  by  the  Inland,  Foreign,  and  Twopenny  Post 
carriers.  The  limits  of  the  Inland  Post  Delivery  were  very  irregular 
and  left  out  a  large  part  of  the  populous  suburbs.  The  Foreign 
Post  Delivery  was  also  very  irregular'and  still  more  restricted  in 
area.  The  Twopenny  Post  Delivery  included  London,  Westmin- 
ster, Southwark  and  their  suburbs,  and  was  the  most  extensive. 
Letters  were  delivered  by  the  Threepenny  Post  within  an  irregular 
area  bounded  on  the  inside  by  the  Twopenny  Delivery  and  ex- 
tending nearly  twelve  miles  from  the  General  Post  Office.  The 
separate  delivery  of  foreign  letters  was  abolished  first  and  all  for- 
eign letters  were  delivered  by  the  General  Post  carriers,  and  in  1831 
the  deliveries  of  the  General  and  Twopenny  Posts  were  made  co- 
extensive, extending  to  a  distance  of  three  miles  from  the  General 
Office  at  St.  Martin's-le-Grand.  Three  years  later  the  Twopenny 
Post  building  in  Gerard  Street  was  given  up  and  all  Twopenny 
Post  letters  henceforth  were  sent  to  the  General  Post  Office  build- 
ing to  be  sorted.3 

The  regular  collections  of  Twopenny  Post  letters  were  made  at 
8  A.M.,  10  A.M.,  12  M.  and  2,  5  and  8  P.M.  Deliveries  were  made  at 
the  same  hours  in  the  morning,  at  noon,  and  at  2,  4  and  7  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon.  A  letter  posted  at  or  before  8  A.M.  was  sent  for 
delivery  at  10  A.M.  and  so  on.  The  letters  collected  were  taken  to 
the  General  Office  by  horsemen  to  be  sorted.  Two  sets  of  men  were 
employed,  one  collecting  while  the  other  delivered.4  There  was  an 
additional  "early  delivery"  as  it  was  called.  The  carriers  on  the 

1  Rep.  Commrs.,  1837,  xxxiv,  gth  rep.,  app.,  no.  i;  ibid.,  1829, xi,  pp. 310-311;  Lou* 
don  Times,  1825,  Dec.  6,  p.  2. 

2  London  Times,  1835,  Jan.  24,  p.  3. 

1  Rep.  Commrs.,  1837,  xxxiv,  gth  rep.,  app.,  nos.  30,  63,  64. 

4  Ibid.,  1837,  xxxiv,  gth  rep.,  app.,  no.  i;  London  Times,  1835,  Jan.  24,  p.  3. 


54   THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

way  to  their  own  "walks"  delivered  letters  to  subscribers,  who  paid 
55.  a  quarter  for  the  accommodation  thus  afforded.  The  postage  for 
letters  so  delivered  was  not  paid  until  the  carriers  called  again  on 
their  regular  delivery.1  In  1837  the  times  of  the  regular  deliveries 
were  changed  to  every  second  hour  from  8  A.M.  to  8  P.M.  and  col- 
lections were  made  at  the  same  hours.2  In  the  Threepenny  Post 
limits,  there  were  on  an  average  three  deliveries  a  day  but  those 
towns  which  had  a  General  Post  delivery  received  only  two  a  day 
from  the  Threepenny  Post.  Letters  were  sent  by  horsemen  or  mail 
carts  for  delivery.  The  same  receiving-houses  were  used  for  Gen- 
eral and  Threepenny  Post  letters.3 

The  Dublin  Penny  Post  was  remodelled  in  1810.  The  deliveries, 
which  had  been  only  two  a  day,  were  increased  to  four  and  then  to 
six,  additional  letter  carriers  were  appointed  and  receiving-houses 
established.  The  penny  delivery  extended  to  four  miles  around  the 
city.  There  was  a  2d.  rate  for  letters  beyond  the  four  mile  radius.4 
Previous  to  1835,  the  boundary  of  the  Edinburgh  Penny  Post  was 
a  circle  with  a  radius  of  i  $4  miles  from  the  Register  Office.  Some 
Scotch  mathematician  must  have  been  consulted  when  in  1835  the 
boundary  was  made  an  ellipse  with  its  foci  a  furlong  apart,  the 
distance  from  each  focus  to  the  most  remote  part  of  the  circum- 
ference being  i%e  miles.  Outside  this  ellipse,  there  was  a  2d.  rate. 
There  had  been  three  deliveries  a  day,  raised  in  1838  to  five.5 

Before  1837  Penny  Posts  had  also  been  established  in  Newcastle 
and  Glasgow.6 

Since  nearly  all  the  mail  coaches  left  London  at  8  o'clock  in  the 
evening,  most  of  the  letters  arriving  there  in  the  morning  for  out- 
side places  were  not  despatched  until  the  same  evening.  It  was 
pointed  out  by  the  commissioners  in  the  Report  of  1837  that  a  large 
proportion  of  these  letters  might  be  forwarded  by  the  post  coaches.7 

1  Rep.  Commrs.,  1829,  xi,  p.  50;  Parl.  Deb.,  ist  ser.,  xxxi,  col.  943;  Ace.  6*  P.,  1826- 
27,  xx,  p.  397. 

Ibid.,  1837-38,  xlv,  265,  p.  6. 

Rep.  Commrs.,  1837,  xxxiv,  9th  rep.,  app.,  no.  i. 

Ibid.,  1829,  xii,  p.  73;  7  Wm.  IV,  and  i  Viet.,  c.  34. 

Rep.  Com.,  1837-38,  xx,  2d  rep.,  app.  E,  no.  31. 

Rep.  Commrs.,  1837,  xxxiv,  9th  rep.,  app.,  no.  14. 

Ibid.,  1837,  xxxiv,  7th  rep.,  p.  7,  and  app.,  nos.  46,  47,  48. 


THE  ESTABLISHMENT  AN  INSTRUMENT  OF  TAXATION    55 

If  they  arrived  on  Saturday  morning  they  were  not  forwarded  until 
Monday  evening  since  Sunday  was  not  a  mail  day  and  mail  coaches 
arriving  on  Sunday  were  detained  in  the  outskirts  of  the  city.1 
The  rumour  that  the  Post  Office  was  considering  the  expedience  of 
a  Sunday  Post  brought  forth  a  flood  of  protests.  Bankers,  mer- 
chants, vestries,  and  religious  societies  were  represented  by  dele- 
gations and  petitions  to  the  Postmaster-General  and  the  House  of 
Commons,  praying  that  no  change  might  be  made.2  Sixteen  hun- 
dred solicitors  joined  in  the  opposition.  Lord  Melbourne  informed 
the  Bishop  of  London  that  the  subject  was  not  under  considera- 
tion, and  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  told  Sir  Robert  Inglis 
that  the  Government  had  no  intention  of  opening  the  Post  Office 
on  Sunday.3  Derby  had  a  Sunday  delivery  in  1839,  but,  on  their 
own  request,  many  of  the  inhabitants  were  excluded  from  it.4 

For  over  forty  years  all  the  mail-coaches  in  England  were  pro- 
vided by  one  man,  with  whom  a  new  contract  was  made  every 
seven  years.  Before  1797  a  penny  a  mile  was  paid  each  way  but  on 
the  imposition  of  a  tax  on  carriages,  the  rate  was  raised  to  i$4d., 
then  to  i  y±  d.,  and  later  to2j/&d.a,  mile.  One  contractor  supplied  the 
coaches,  others  provided  horses  and  drivers,  but  the  guards  were 
hired  directly  by  the  Post  Office.  In  Scotland  and  Ireland,  coaches, 
horses,  and  drivers  were  all  provided  by  the  same  men.  The  num- 
ber of  miles  a  day  covered  by  the  mail-coaches  in  1827  was  7862 
and  the  mileage  allowance  for  that  year  was  £46,900.  When  the 
mails  were  exceptionally  heavy,  mail  carts  were  used,  which  cost 
somewhat  more  than  the  coaches,  since  they  carried  no  passengers. 
In  1836  the  contract  for  the  supply  of  coaches  was  thrown  open  to 
public  competition.  By  this  move,  the  expenses  dropped  from 
£61,009  a  year  to  £53,191  although  the  total  distance  travelled  per 
day  increased  from  13,148  to  14,482  miles.6  The  mail-coaches  were 
at  a  disadvantage  in  competing  with  the  post-coaches,  since  the 
former  were  allowed  to  carry  no  more  than  four  inside  and  two  out- 

.    *  Ace.  &•  P.,  1837, 1.  316.  2  Ibid.,  1837,  xlvi,  176. 

1  Parl.  Deb.,  ist  ser.,  xlvi,  coll.  206,  332. 

4  London  Times,  1839,  June  i,  p.  7. 

5  Parl.  Papers,  1811,  Rep.  Com.,  p.  9;  Rep.  Commrs.,  1837,  xxxiv,  7th  rep.,  apps.  5, 
7,  26,  p.  71;  London  Times,  1832,  Apr.  27,  p.  2;  Ace.  &•  P.,  1837-38,  xlv,  265,  p.  3: 
265,  p.  4;  Rep.  Commrs.,  1829,  xi,  p.  294. 


56        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

side  passengers  nor  were  they  allowed  to  carry  any  luggage  on  the 
roof.1  On  the  other  hand  the  mail-coaches  in  England  paid  no 
tolls  until  i837.2  The  268  mail  guards  of  the  British  coaches 
received  £7577  in  salaries  in  1837,  paid  directly  by  the  Post  Office. 
Seven  inspectors  were  also  employed  at  a  fixed  yearly  salary  and 
155.  a  day  when  travelling.  They  superintended  the  coachmen  and 
guards,  investigated  complaints,  delays,  and  accidents,  and  made 
preliminary  agreements  in  contracting  for  coaches.3  The  majority 
of  the  Irish  coaches  had  paid  tolls  ever  since  they  had  been  intro- 
duced. Generally  they  were  paid  by  the  Post  Office  at  stated  inter- 
vals. The  total  distance  travelled  by  mail-coaches  in  Ireland  in 
1829  was  2160  miles  each  day,  by  mail-carts  2533  miles.  The  num- 
ber of  guards  employed  was  eighty-five,  receiving  £2935  a  year. 
The  Irish  coaches  were  allowed  to  carry  four  outside  passengers.4 

The  first  railway  in  England  over  which  mails  were  carried  was 
operated  between  Manchester  and  Liverpool.  In  1838  the  Govern- 
ment paid  the  Grand  Junction  Railway  5  fad.  a  single  mile  for  the 
conveyance  of  its  mails.  At  the  same  time  the  average  rate  by  the 
coaches  was  2^d.  a  single  mile.  On  the  London  and  Birmingham 
Railway  when  a  special  Post  Office  carriage  was  used,  7  ^d.  was  paid. 
When  the  ordinary  mail-coach  was  carried  on  trucks  the  rate  was 
4  %d.  When  a  regular  railway  carriage  was  used,  the  rate  was  2  *4 d.  a 
mile  for  one  third  of  a  carriage.5  For  the  year  ending  5th  January, 
1839,  the  Post  Office  paid  £105,107  for  the  conveyance  of  mails  by 
coaches  and  £9883  to  the  railways.  For  the  next  official  year,  the 
figures  had  risen  to  £109,246  and  £39, 724. 6 

The  increased  business  of  the  Post  Office  made  necessary  a  cor- 
responding increase  in  the  employees  and  better  arrrangements  for 

1  Parl.  Papers,  1811,  Rep.  Com.,  pp.  10,  32,  50,  51? 

2  Ibid.,  1811,  Rep.  Com.,  p.  i;  Parl.  Deb.,  ist  ser.,  xix,  col.  683;  Wm.  IV  and  i  Viet., 

c.  33- 

3  Rep.  Commrs.,  1829,  xi,  p.  34;  ibid.,  1837,  xxxiv,  7th  rep.,  app.,  nos.  30,  31. 

4  Parl.  Papers,  1811,  Rep.  Com.,  p.  i;  43  Geo.  Ill,  c.  28;  Rep.  Com.,  1831-32, 
xvii,  pp.  336,  338,  339;  Rep.  Commrs.,  1837,  xxxiv,  7th  rep.,  app.,  no.  31. 

6  Ibid.,  1837,  xxxiv,  7th  rep.,  app.,  nos.  12,  13.  The  first  day  coach  left  London  in 
1837,  connecting  at  Birmingham  with  the  railway  to  Hartford,  Cheshire.  (London 
Times,  1837,  Sept.  5,  p.  4;  Rep.  Com.,  1837-38,  xx,  pts.  i  and  2,  2d  rep.,  app.  E,  No. 
48;  pt.  i,  p.  469,  no.  17.) 

6  Ace.  &•  P.,  1841,  xxvi,  221,  no.  5. 


THE  ESTABLISHMENT  AN  INSTRUMENT  OF  TAXATION    57 

dealing  with  the  reception  and  despatch  of  letters.  The  number  of 
persons  employed  in  the  General  Office  in  1804  was  486.  In  1814 
there  were  576.  There  were  563  postmasters  in  England  and  over 
3000  persons  officially  engaged  in  the  receipt  and  delivery  of  letters. 
Additional  offices  had  also  been  established.  In  1813  a  Returned 
Letter  Office  was  organized  for  the  purpose  of  returning  undeliv- 
ered letters  to  the  writers  and  collecting  the  postage  due.  Previous 
to  1813,  the  practice  had  been  to  return  only  such  letters  as  ap- 
peared to  contain  money  or  were  supposed  to  be  important  enough 
to  escape  destruction.  A  Franking  Department  was  organized  to 
inspect  such  letters  as  were  sent  free.  The  increased  use  of  private 
ships  for  conveying  letters  led  to  the  establishment  of  a  Ship  Letter 
Office.1 

The  old  Post  Office  building  in  Lombard  Street  was  quite  too 
small  to  provide  for  the  new  offices  and  employees.  The  Inland 
Department  contained  only  3140  superficial  feet,  half  of  which 
was  occupied  with  sorting  tables,  leaving  only  1500  feet  for  130 
persons.  In  the  Foreign  Department  with  thirty-five  men,  there 
were  only  250  superficial  feet  where  they  must  perform  their  duties. 
The  accommodations  for  receiving  letters  were  so  inadequate  that 
when  a  foreign  mail  was  being  made  up,  the  windows  were  crowded 
with  an  impatient  and  seething  mob  waiting  for  their  turn  to  post 
their  letters.  The  condition  of  the  Penny  Post  Department  was  no 
better.  In  1814  a  committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  reported 
that  a  new  General  Post  Office  building  was  absolutely  necessary. 
Objections  were  raised  on  account  of  the  necessary  expenses  in- 
volved and  it  was  not  until  1829  that  the  new  Post  Office  in  St. 
Martin's-le-Grand  was  formally  opened.2 

In  1784  Ireland  was  given  much  larger  political  powers  than  she 
had  previously  enjoyed,  and  her  Parliament  was  freed  from  the 
direct  tutelage  of  the  English  Privy  Council.  At  the  same  time 
greater  latitude  in  postal  matters  was  also  granted.  An  Irish  Post- 
master-General was  appointed  to  reside  in  Dublin  and  to  collect 
the  postage  on  all  letters  which  did  not  pass  beyond  Ireland.  The 
postage  between  the  two  countries  was  to  be  collected  on  delivery, 

1  Parl.  Papers,  1813-14,  Rep.  Com.,  p.  35;  Ace. &•  P.,  1817,  pp.  4-16;  Rep.  Commrs., 
1829,  xi,  p.  137.  2  Parl.  Papers,  1813-14,  Rep.  Com.,  pp.  11-16. 


58        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

and  then  to  be  divided  between  the  two  according  to  the  distance 
travelled  in  each.  All  net  receipts  from  the  Irish  Office  were  or- 
dered to  be  transmitted  to  London.  The  sailing  packets  remained 
in  the  charge  of  the  English  Postmasters-General,  but  £4000  a 
year  was  paid  to  the  Irish  Office  for  this  privilege.1 

After  the  separation  of  the  Irish  from  the  English  Post  Office, 
different  postage  rates  had  been  established  for  the  two  countries. 
The  division  of  authority  thus  established  had  caused  endless  diffi- 
culties. Complaints  about  the  delay  or  loss  of  letters  crossing  the 
Channel  at  Kingstown,  Howth,  and  Waterford  were  referred  from 
one  office  to  the  other.  The  Commissioners  who  inquired  into  the 
condition  of  the  Dublin  Office  found  things  in  a  deplorable  condi- 
tion. There  were  nearly  as  many  postal  officials  employed  in  Dub- 
lin as  in  London,  although  the  number  of  letters  handled  was  not 
one  fourth  so  great.  In  the  secretary's  office,  employing  six  persons, 
the  fees  amounted  to  £2648  a  year,  largely  on  English  and  Irish 
newspapers.  In  the  whole  Dublin  establishment  they  averaged 
over  £15,000  a  year.  The  contracts  for  the  supply  and  horsing  of 
the  mail-coaches  were  supposed  to  be  public  but  they  were  awarded 
by  favour.  The  Postmasters- General  did  not  attend  to  business 
and  were  very  jealous  of  each  other.  The  Commissioners  recom- 
mended the  amalgamation  of  the  English  and  Irish  offices,  and  this 
was  accomplished  in  1831,  the  Irish  postage  rates  having  been  al- 
tered four  years  earlier  to  coincide  with  the  English  rates.2 

Ireland  was  divided  into  eight  postal  divisions,  according  to  the 
routes  of  the  mail-coaches.  Mails  left  Dublin  at  7  A.M.  with  an 
additional  mail  for  Cork  at  noon.  They  arrived  in  Dublin  between 

6  and  7  A.M.  The  most  important  postal  centres  in  addition  to  Dub- 
lin were  Belfast,  Cork,  Limerick,  and  the  packet  stations  at  Water- 
ford  and  Donaghadee.  The  total  number  of  post  towns  in  Ireland 
was  414.   At  the  same  time  there  were  in  Great  Britain  546  post 
towns.3  A  new  post  office  building  was  completed  in  Dublin  in  182 1 
at  a  cost  of  £io7,ooo.4 

*  24  Geo.  Ill,  c.  6. 

2  Rep.  Commrs.,  1829,  xii,  253,  pp.  7, 8, 15-84;  ibid.,  1837,  7th  rep.,  app.  nos.  22,  68; 

7  and  8  Geo.  IV,  c.  21. 

9  Rep.  Commrs.,  1829,  xii,  253,  pp.  7,  8;  1831-32,  xvii,  p.  325. 
4  48  Geo.  Ill,  c.  48;  Parl  Papers,  1821,  xix,  286. 


THE  ESTABLISHMENT  AN  INSTRUMENT  OF  TAXATION    59 

The  Scotch  Post  Office  had  been  amalgamated  with  the  English 
Office  in  1711,  and  Scotland  was  constituted  one  of  the  eighteen 
postal  divisions  of  Great  Britain.  The  Scotch  rates  had  been  the 
same  as  the  English  rates  since  that  date,  although  an  additional 
half-penny  was  paid  on  Scotch  letters  to  meet  mail-coach  tolls. 
In  1821  there  were  only  eight  towns  for  which  mails  were  made  up. 
At  the  same  time  that  a  new  building  for  the  use  of  the  Post  Office 
was  being  erected  in  Dublin,  a  contract  was  signed  for  a  new  Gen- 
eral Office  building  for  Edinburgh  to  cost  £i4,ooo.1 

The  rates  established  by  the  act  of  1765  were  still  unchanged  for 
the  colonial  possessions  of  the  United  Kingdom.  The  American 
dominions  had  been  sadly  depleted  by  the  Revolutionary  War  but 
the  postage  revenue  from  the  loyal  remnants  had  steadily  increased. 
In  1838  the  amount  of  postage  charged  upon  the  colonial  postmas- 
ters in  America  amounted  to  £79,000.  At  one  time  Jamaica  had 
been  the  most  important  American  colony  from  a  postal  point  of 
view.  Canada  now  took  the  lead,  followed  in  order  of  importance  by 
Jamaica,  Nova  Scotia,  and  New  Brunswick.  In  1834  it  was  pro- 
vided that,  as  soon  as  the  North  American  Provinces  passed  postal 
acts  of  their  own  and  these  acts  were  approved  by  the  King,  the 
colonial  rates  of  1765  should  cease  and  the  net  postal  revenue  of  the 
North  American  Provinces  should  be  retained  by  them.2 

The  British  Post  Office  was  now  to  experience  the  most  far  reach- 
ing and  vital  change  since  1635.  Sir  Rowland  Hill  was  the  repre- 
sentative ofjthe  movement,  aided  by  Mr.  Wallace,  who,  as  a  mem- 
ber of  Parliament,  was  able  to  exercise  an  important  effect  upon 
the  proposed  reform.  The  history  of  the  adoption  of  penny  postage 
has  been  so  well  told  by  Hill  himself  that  only  a  bare  story  of  its 
acceptance  by  Parliament  is  necessary  here.  A  committee  was  ap- 
pointed to  report  upon  the  condition  of  the  Post  Office,  the  attitude 
of  postal  officials  and  of  the  public  towards  the  proposed  change, 
its  effect  upon  the  revenue,  and  finally  to  give  their  own  opin- 
ion. This  committee  examined  the  Postmaster-General,3  the  Sec- 
retaries and  Solicitors  of  the  London,  Dublin,  and  Edinburgh  offices, 

1  Rep.  Commrs.,  1829,  xii,  353,  p.  8;  Parl.  Papers,  1821,  xxi,  423. 

2  Rep.  Com.,  1837-38,  xx,  pts.  i  and  2,  2d  rep.,  app.  E,  no.  42;  4  and  5  Wm.  IV,  c.  7. 
8  Since  1823  there  had  been  only  one  Postmaster-General,  as  the  dual  system  was 

abolished  in  that  year. 


60      THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

other  officials  in  the  Post  Office,  the  Chairman,  Secretary,  and 
Solicitor  of  the  Board  of  Stamps  and  Taxes,  Rowland  Hill  and 
eighty-three  other  witnesses  from  different  classes  of  people,  and 
obtained  many  reports  from  the  Post  Office.  Hill  presented  his 
plan  to  the  Committee  as  follows :  — 

That  inland  letters  should  pay  postage  according  to  weight  at  the 
rate  of  one  penny  for  each  half  ounce.1 

Such  postage  should  be  paid  in  advance  by  means  of  stamped 
papers  or  covers.2 

An  option  might  be  allowed  for  a  time  to  pay  a  penny  in  advance 
or  2d.  on  delivery.3 

Day  mails  should  be  established  on  the  important  lines  of  com- 
munication.4 

There  should  be  a  uniform  rate  of  postage  because  the  cost  of 
distributing  letters  consisted  chiefly  in  the  expenses  for  collecting 
and  delivering  them.5  The  plan  then  in  operation  for  letters  not 
exceeding  one  ounce  in  weight  was  to  charge  according  to  the  num- 
ber of  enclosures.  This  plan  was  uncertain  because  the  number 
could  not  always  be  ascertained,  necessitated  a  close  examination, 
and  was  evaded  by  writing  several  letters  on  one  sheet.6 

Payment  on  delivery  made  it  necessary  to  keep  two  separate  ac- 
counts against  each  postmaster,  one  for  unpaid  letters  posted  in 
London,  and  one  for  paid  letters  posted  in  the  country.  The  post- 
masters had  also  to  keep  accounts  against  each  other.  Payment  in 
advance,  if  made  compulsory,  would  do  away  with  half  of  these 
accounts  and  the  use  of  stamped  covers  or  paper  would  do  away 
with  the  other  half.7  In  some  small  places  where  the  penny  charge 
would  not  cover  the  cost  of  delivery,  Hill  proposed  that  a  small 
additional  charge  be  made,  either  in  advance  or  on  delivery,  but  he 
withdrew  this  suggestion  later.8 

Rep.  Com.,  1837-38,  xx,  pt.  i,  3d  rep.,  708,  p.  3. 
Ibid.,  1837-38,  xx,  pt.  i,  p.  13;  xx,  questions  113,  128,  129,  548. 
Ibid.,  1837-38,  xx,  pt.  i,  p.  13;  ibid.,  xx,  qs.  113,  128,  129,  548. 
Ibid.,  1837-38,  xx,  qs.  750-59,  890-92. 

Ibid.,  1837-38,  xx,  qs.  114,  11092-97;  pt.  i,  3d  rep.,  708,  p.  5;  pts.  i  and  2,  ad 
rep.,  app.  E,  no.  58. 

Ibid.,  1837-38,  xx,  qs.  3116,  4599,  8137,  9770;  3d  rep.,  p.  44. 
Ibid.,  1837-38,  xx,  3d  rep.,  pp.  35,  38;  qs.  113,  620,  621. 
8  Ibid.,  1837-38,  xx,  pt.  i,  pp.  48, 59, 424;  pts.  i  and  2,  ist  rep.,  no.  25,  p.  508. 


THE  ESTABLISHMENT  AN  INSTRUMENT  OF  TAXATION    6l 


witnesses  summoned  to  give  their  evidence  before  the  com- 
mittee pointed  out  that  a  multitude  of  business  transactions  were 
not  carried  on  at  all,  or  were  carried  on  clandestinely,  or  were  pam- 
pered by  the  high  postage  rates.  Bills  for  small  amounts  were  not 
drawn,1  commercial  travellers  did  not  write  until  several  orders 
could  be  sent  on  one  sheet  of  paper,  2_samples  were  not  sent  by  post,3 
communication  between  banks  and  their  branches  was  restricted,4 
statistical  information  was  denied,5  social  correspondence  restricted 
especially  among  the  poor,6  working  men  were  ignorant  of  the  rates 
of  wages  in  other  parts  of  the  country,7  and  the  high  postage  was  a 
bad  means  of  raising  revenue.8  -In  order  to  estimate  the  probable 
revenue  after  the  change,  it  Tvas  necessary  to  know  the  number  of 
letters  carried.  Hill  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  total  num- 
ber was  about  80,000,000  a  year.  The  Secretary,  Maberley,  con- 
sidered that  there  were  about  58,000,000.  A  return  was  called  for 
by  the  committee  and  Hill's  estimate  proved  to  be  nearly  correct.9 

The  committee  reported  that  the  Post  Office  "instead  of  being 
viewed  as  an  institution  of  ready  and  universal  access,  distributing 
equally  to  all  and  with  an  open  hand  the  blessings  of  commerce  and 
civilization,  is  regarded  as  an  establishment  too  expensive  to  be 
made  use  of"  (by  large  classes  of  the  community)  "and  as  one  with 
the  employment  of  which  they  endeavour  to  dispense  by  every 
means  in  their  power."  They  were  on  less  solid  ground  when  they 
proceeded  to  state  that  the  idea  of  obtaining  revenue  had  been 
until  lately  only  a  minor  consideration  and  that  the  Post  Office  had 
primarily  been  established  for  the  benefit  of  trade  and  commerce.10 
Finally  Hill's  plan  was  approved,  though  only  by  the  casting  vote 
of  the  chairman,  Mr.  Wallace. 

The  House  of  Commons  received  the  proposed  change  with  fa- 
vour. Over  300  petitions  with  38,000  signatures  were  presented 
praying  for  its  adoption.  The  Duke  of  Richmond,  a  former  Post- 

Rep.  Com.,  1837-38,  xx,  qs.  6682,  7093.        2  Ibid.,  q.  7668. 
Ibid.,  qs.  7671,  7721.  4  Ibid.,  q.  10,059. 

Ibid.,  qs.  6951,  10,305.      6  Ibid.,  qs.  2923,  5522-54,  5443-54,  6703,  7961. 
Ibid.,  qs.  7991,  9840-42.    8  Ibid.,  qs.  8126,  8130  (Lord  Ashburton). 
Ibid.,  pt.  i,  pp.  9,  434;  ibid.,  pt.  2,  pp.  59,  658;  app.,  p.  58;  ibid.,  pts.  i  and  2,  $d 
rep.,  p.  19. 
10  Ibid.,  1837-38,  xx,  pt.  i,  3d  rep.,  p.  10. 


62        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

master- General,  thought  that  it  would  be  beneficial  and  that  it  was 
the  only  means  of  stopping  the  illegal  conveyance  of  letters.1  Sir 
Robert  Peel  was  of  the  opinion  that,  with  the  prevailing  deficits,  it 
was  an  unfortunate  departure,  and  he  feared  that  prepaid  letters 
would  not  be  delivered.2  But  the  Treasury  was  given  power  to 
lower  rates  and  in  1840  a  treasury  warrant  was  issued,  imposing 
postage  rates  between  the  colonies  and  between  foreign  countries 
through  Great  Britain  according  to  weight  and  distance.3  Stamped 
covers  were  issued  for  the  use  of  members  of  Parliament,  and  in 
1840  an  act  was  passed  establishing  penny  postage  for  the  United 
Kingdom,  permitting  the  use  of  stamped  paper  or  covers,  and 
imposing  rates  on  foreign  and  colonial  letters  according  to  weight 
and  distance  conveyed.4 

The  complete  change  thus  produced  in  the  policy  of  the  Post 
Office  is  vividly  set  forth  by  the  old  Secretary,  Sir  Francis  Freeling. 
"Cheap  postage"  —  he  writes,  "What  is  this  men  are  talking 
about?  Can  it  be  that  all  my  life  I  have  been  in  error?  If  I,  then 
others  —  others  whose  behests  I  have  been  bound  to  obey.  To 
make  the  Post  Office  revenue  as  productive  as  possible  was  long 
ago  impressed  upon  me  by  successive  ministers  as  a  duty  which  I 
was  under  a  solemn  obligation  to  discharge.  And  not  only  long  ago. 
Is  it  not  within  the  last  six  months  that  the  present  Chancellor  of 
the  Exchequer 5  has  charged  me  not  to  let  the  present  revenue  go 
down?  What!  You,  Freeling,  brought  up  and  educated  as  you  have 
been,  are  you  going  to  lend  yourself  to  these  extravagant  schemes? 
You  with  your  four-horse  mail  coaches  too!  Where  else  in  the 
world  does  the  merchant  or  the  manufacturer  have  the  materials 
of  his  trade  carried  for  him  gratuitously  or  at  so  low  a  rate  as  to 
leave  no  margin  of  profit?"6 

Rep.  Com.,  1837-38,  xx,  2d  rep.,  app.,  p.  3;  Parl.  Deb.,  3d  series,  xlvii,  col.  1231. 

Ibid.,  3d  series,  xlvii,  coll.  278-84,  293. 

Ace.  fir  P.,  1841,  xxvi,  p.  53;  1839,  xlvi,  p.  568. 

Parl.  Deb.,  3d  series,  li,  col.  227;  3  and  4  Viet.,  c.  96. 

The  Rt.  Hon.  Thomas  Spring  Rice. 

Joyce,  pp.  427-28. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  POSTAL  ESTABLISHMENT  AN  INSTRUMENT  OF  POPULAR 
COMMUNICATION 

WITH  the  inauguration  of  inland  penny  postage  the  Postal  Es- 
tablishment ceased  to  exist  primarily  as  a  tax-collecting  agency, 
and,  although  maintained  as  a  whole  upon  a  paying  basis,  certain 
of  its  recent  experiments  have,  from  a  financial  point  of  view,  been 
far  from  successful.  On  the  other  hand,  the  simultaneous  unifica- 
tion and  reduction  of  rates,  together  with  various  other  changes 
which  have  been  adopted  since  1840,  have  resulted  in  lessening 
appreciably  the  expenses  of  management. 

The  postage  on  inland  letters  was  reduced  in  1865,  1871,  1884, 
and  again  in  1897.  In  1839,  the  last  year  of  high  postal  rates,  the 
total  [number  of  letters,  including  franks,  delivered  in  the  United 
Kingdom,  was  somewhat  in  excess  of  eighty-two  millions.  This  num- 
ber was  rather  more  than  doubled  in  the  following  year.  During 
the  ensuing  ten  years  the  figures  were  again  doubled,  the  total  in 
1850  being  347  millions.  For  the  five-year  period  1866-70,  follow- 
ing the  reduction  in  postage  of  1865,  the  average  yearly  number 
delivered  was  800  millions.  In  1875  this  increased  to  a  little  over 
looo  millions;  in  the  postal  year  1880-81  to  1176  millions,  in  1890- 
91  to  1705  millions,  and  in  1900-01  to  2323  millions.1  So  far  as 
colonial  letters  were  concerned,  a  marked  reduction  in  rates  was 
granted  soon  after  inland  penny  postage  was  obtained,  the  reduc- 
tion being  extended  to  the  larger  part  of  the  Empire.2  Further 
reductions  followed  until,  in  1898,  a  penny  half  ounce  rate  was 
established  for  most  of  the  colonies,  and  all  were  included  in  1905. 
As  on  a  previous  occasion,  the  United  States  was  the  first  foreign 
country  with  which  an  agreement  was  made  to  adopt  this  low  rate, 

1  Rep.  P.  G.,  1855,  P-  65;  1881,  app.,  p.  n;  1891,  app.,  p.  16;  1901,  app.,  p.  25. 
1  Colonial  legislatures  were  given  the  power  in  1849  to  establish  posts  of  their  own 
and  to  fix  the  inland  postal  rates  (12  and  13  Viet.,  c.  26). 


64        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

and  its  advantages  have  been  enhanced  still  further  by  an  increase 
in  the  initial  weight  from  half  an  ounce  to  an  ounce.  During  the  six- 
ties, treaties  were  entered  into  with  the  most  important  European 
countries  for  lower  postage  rates,  and,  in  1874,  at  the  first  meeting  of 
the  Postal  Union,  a  uniform  rate  for  prepaid  letters  of  2  y^d.  a  half 
ounce  was  agreed  to.  Reductions  also  followed  for  other  postal 
matter.  In  1891  a  universal  foreign  letter  rate  of  2^/2d.  was  an- 
nounced so  far  as  the  United  Kingdom  was  concerned,  with  the 
exception  of  those  countries  where  a  lower  rate  already  prevailed, 
and  a  further  reduction  followed  in  1907  by  increasing  the  initial 
weight  from  half  an  ounce  to  an  ounce  in  the  case  of  all  foreign  and 
colonial  letters,  the  charge  on  foreign  letters  for  each  unit  after  the 
first  being  reduced  at  the  same  time  from  2^2 d.  to  iJ/2 d. 

After  1840  the  registration  fee  was  reduced  by  a  series  of  grada- 
tions from  15.  to  2d.,  and  the  compulsory  registration  of  all  letters 
containing  coin  was  enforced.  In  1891  the  separate  system  of  in- 
surance was  abolished,  and  registration  was  extended  for  the  first 
time  to  inland  parcels.  The  limit  of  compensation  was  increased  at 
the  same  time  to  £25  and  in  the  following  year  to  £50  by  the  pay- 
ment of  2 d.  for  the  first  £5  and  an  additional  penny  for  each  addi- 
tional £5  of  insurance.1  Seven  years  later  the  amount  of  compensa- 
tion payable  was  increased  to  £120  and  the  fee  payable  was  low- 
ered for  all  sums  over  £15.  Arrangements  were  also  made  by  which 
letters  addressed  to  certain  colonies  and  foreign  countries  might 
be  insured  to  the  same  maximum  amount.2  The  limit  of  compensa- 
tion is  now  £400  for  inland  registered  correspondence  as  well  as  for 
correspondence  to  many  foreign  countries  and  a  few  of  the  colonies. 
:  Among  other  postal  reforms  dear  to  Hill's  heart  had  been  the 
compulsory  payment  of  postage  by  means  of  stamps.  He  pointed 
out  that  this  would  greatly  simplify  the  keeping  of  accounts  by  the 
department  and  increase  the  net  revenue.  The  proposition  was, 
however,  too  unpopular  to  secure  approval.  Nevertheless  in  1847 
the  Postmaster- General  secured  parliamentary  authority  to  abol- 
ish or  restrict  payment  in  money  and  require  stamps  to  be 
used,  but  the  experiment  proved  so  unpopular  that  it  was  eventu- 

1  Rep.  P.  G.,  1892,  p.  7. 
8  Ibid.,  1899,  pp.  4,  6-7. 


'AN  INSTRUMENT  OF  POPULAR  COMMUNICATION     65 

ally  abandoned.1  The  use  of  perforated  stamps,  an  invention  of 
Mr.  Archer,  was  in  1852  recommended  by  a  committee  appointed 
to  report  on  the  question.2  Finally,  in  1904,  the  law  forbidding  the 
use  of  embossed  or  impressed  stamps  cut  out  of  envelopes,  post- 
cards, letter  cards,  wrappers,  and  telegraph  forms  was  repealed.3 
From  1808  to  1840  the  rural  districts  as  a  rule  obtained  their 
postal  matter  by  a  special  payment  on  their  part  to  messengers  for 
its  conveyance  from  the  nearest  town,  sometimes  aided  by  a  bonus 
from  the  revenue,  or  by  means  of  the  "fifth-clause"  posts,4  or  by 
the  penny  posts  which  were  constantly  increasing  in  number  and 
were  occasionally  established  under  guarantee.  In  1838  there  were 
fifty- two  "fifth-clause"  posts  in  England  and  Wales,  and  1922  vil- 
lages in  the  United  Kingdom  were  served  by  penny  posts.  In  1843 
the  government  of  Sir  Robert  Peel  laid  down  the  following  prin- 
ciple: "All  places  the  letters  for  which  exceed  one  hundred  per 
week  should  be  entitled  to  a  receiving  office  and  a  free  delivery  of 
letters."  A  "delivery"  here  meant  a  daily  delivery,  and  the  bound- 
ary of  the  free  delivery  was  to  be  determined  by  the  Postmaster- 
General.  The  principle  enunciated  above  was  followed  until  1850, 
and  during  that  period  the  increase  in  the  number  of  free  and  guar- 
anteed rural  deliveries  was  very  great.  At  the  close  of  this  period 
it  was  decided  that  in  future  the  determining  rule  should  be  based 
upon  the  probability  of  financial  success.  A  post  was  held  to  pay 
its  way  whenever  its  cost  was  covered  by  a  halfpenny  on  each  let- 
ter delivered,  but,  since  it  was  held  that  the  number  of  letters 
would  be  doubled  by  free  delivery,  double  the  number  arriving 
before  its  establishment  might  be  assumed  to  arrive  afterward. 
The  post  might  be  bi-weekly,  tri-weekly,  or  weekly.  This  rule 
was  to  a  certain  extent  made  retroactive,  but  no  post  established 
under  the  rule  of  1843  was  stopped  so  long  as  the  cost  was  covered 
by  calculating  delivered  letters  at  a  penny  each.  It  was  decided  in 
1853  that  a  post  less  frequent  than  once  a  day  might  be  increased 
in  frequency  whenever  the  cost  would  be  covered  by  a  revenue  esti- 

1  10  and  ii  Viet.,  c.  85;  Rep.  Com.,  1852,  xv,  386,  p.  150;  Rep.  P.  G.,  1859,  p.  25. 

2  Rep.  Com.,  1852,  xv,  386,  pp.  iii-iv.j 
«  4  Edw.  VII,  c.  14. 

4  Established  by  agreements  between  the  Postmaster-General  and  the  inhabitants 
of  small  towns  and  villages. 


66        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE  * 

mated  on  the  basis  of  three  farthings  for  each  letter,  and  in  treating 
an  application  for  a  second  daily  post  this  amount  was  to  be  reduced 
to  one  farthing.  The  experiment  was  tried  of  delivering  letters  at 
every  house  in  a  few  selected  places  but  did  not  prove  a  success.  It 
was  stated  that  at  the  end  of  this  revision,  93  per  cent  of  all  postal 
packets  were  delivered.  In  1860  the  rule  was  laid  down  that  new 
posts  should  be  set  up  only  when  the  cost  would  be  covered  by 
half  a  penny  on  each  letter  actually  arriving,  the  old  rule  having 
been  found  to  be  too  liberal.  Two  years  later  it  was  stated  by 
the  Post  Office  that  only  6  per  cent  of  the  total  postal  packages 
were  undelivered.  In  1882  the  question  of  extending  the  rural 
posts  was  considered  by  Mr.  Fawcett,  the  then  Postmaster- General, 
who  decided  that  credit  should  be  given  for  revenue  by  increas- 
ing the  halfpenny  to  6/iod.  for  each  letter,  and  in  the  next  year  the 
existing  rule  as  to  a  second  daily  delivery  was  made  more  liberal. 
In  1890,  for  places  hitherto  unserved,  the  rate  per  letter  for  esti- 
mating revenue  was  increased  to  three  farthings,  for  each  parcel  the 
rate  was  fixed  at  i  }4  d.,  and  in  the  following  year  rural  sanitary  au- 
thorities in  England  and  Wales  were  authorized  to  guarantee  posts. 
In  Scotland  the  district  committee  or  the  county  council,  where  the 
counties  were  not  divided,  was  given  the  same  power  in  1892.  In 
the  same  year  the  rule  was  laid  down  that  a  second  service  in  the 
day  might  be  given  provided  that  its  cost  did  not  exceed  half  a 
penny  a  letter  and  a  penny  a  parcel  and  in  addition  that  the  total 
cost  of  night  and  day  mail  services  should  not  exceed  the  revenue 
from  the  whole  correspondence  at  half  a  penny  per  letter  and  a 
penny  per  parcel.  It  was  estimated  in  1892  that  about  thirty-two 
and  a  half  millions  of  letters  were  undelivered,  but  the  work  of 
extending  the  rural  posts  went  on  gradually  until  in  1897  it  was 
announced  that  provision  would  be  made  as  soon  as  possible  for 
delivery  to  every  house  in  the  United  Kingdom.  In  1900  the  Post- 
master-General was  able  to  report  that  house  to  house  delivery  had 
been  completed  in  England  and  almost  completed  in  Scotland  and 
Ireland.1 

In  addition  to  the  ordinary  delivery  at  regular  intervals  there 
was  a  growing  demand  for  a  more  rapid  service  on  extraordinary 
1  Rep.  P.  G.}  1898,  pp.  32-39;  1860,  pp.  9  f.;  1864,  p.  15. 


AN  INSTRUMENT  OF  POPULAR  COMMUNICATION     67 

occasions  as  well  as  a  desire  for  a  special  messenger  service  when 
the  use  of  the  Post  Office  as  a  medium  meant  an  undesirable  loss 
of  time.  In  1886  a  private  company  started  to  supply  messengers 
for  postal  services.  After  some  trouble  with  the  Post  Office,  a 
licence  was  granted  them  in  1891  in  return  for  which  they  agreed 
to  pay  a  percentage  of  their  gross  receipts  to  the  department  and 
observe  certain  conditions  with  reference  to  the  delivery  of  let- 
ters.1 An  express  delivery  service  was  also  established  by  the  Post 
Office,  the  fee  in  addition  to  the  ordinary  postage  being  2 d.  for  the 
first  mile,  3 d.  for  the  second  and  beyond  that,  and  where  no  public 
conveyances  existed,  is.  a  mile  or  actual  cab-fare.  In  the  case  of 
letters  delivered  locally  the  ordinary  postage  was  abrogated  soon 
after  and  a  charge  of  i}4d.  per  pound  for  parcels  exceeding  one 
pound  in  weight  was  imposed,  but  this  charge  was  later  lowered  to 
a  penny  per  pound  with  a  maximum  payment  of  is.  and  the  maxi- 
mum limit  of  weight  was  increased  from  15  to  20  pounds  where  the 
messenger  could  travel  by  public  conveyance.  The  initial  charge 
for  the  first  mile  of  2^.,  and  3^.  for  each  succeeding  mile,  for  each 
parcel  was  made  a  uniform  charge  of  $d.  per  mile,  and  the  fixed 
charge  of  2d.  for  each  parcel  beyond  the  first  was  reduced  to  a 
penny  where  several  packets  were  tendered  by  the  same  sender  for 
delivery  by  the  same  messenger.  In  the  case  of  several  packages 
delivered  at  the  same  address  the  charge  was  lowered  to  3^.  plus 
an  additional  penny  for  every  ten  packages  or  part  thereof,  later 
changed  to  a  weight  fee  of  $d.  on  each  packet  or  bundle  of  packets 
weighing  more  than  one  pound.2  Rural  postmen  were  also  allowed 
to  receive  letters  and  parcels  from  the  public  at  any  point  in  their 
walks  and  deliver  them  without  passing  them  through  a  post  office, 
having  first  canceled  the  stamps.3  An  Agreement  was  also  made 
with  the  railways  to  carry  single  letters  left  in  the  booking  office  for 
2 d.  each.  These  letters  may  be  taken  to  the  booking  office  by  mes- 
senger and  delivered  by  a  messenger  at  the  end  of  their  journey  or 
posted  there.4  The  express  delivery  service  was  also  extended  to 

1  Their  extended  licence  will  expire  in  1922  (Rep.  P.  G.,  1901,  p.  2). 

2  Parl.  Deb.,  3d  series,  cccli,  col.  1751;  Rep.  P.  G.,  1901,  p.  2;  1892,  p.  7;  1891,  pp. 
4  f-J  1893,  p.  7;  1894,  p.  6;  1899,  pp.  2,  3. 

3  Ibid.,  1894,  p.  5.  «  Ibid.,  1891,  p.  5. 


68         THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

such  foreign  countries  as  would  agree  to  it,  including  nearly  all  of 
Western  Europe,  part  of  South  America,  and  the  far  East.  In  every 
case  the  primary  fee  in  England  is  3^.,  the  foreign  charges  varying 
with  local  conditions.  Express  letters  from  abroad  are  delivered 
free  within  one  mile  from  the  Post  Office.  Beyond  that  the  distance 
charge  is  3 d.  a  mile  for  one  parcel,  with  a  penny  for  each  additional 
parcel  delivered  to  the  same  person.  The  Postmaster-General 
reported  that  the  establishment  of  this  service  was  not  only  much 
appreciated  by  the  people,  but  was  self-supporting  and  even  profit- 
able to  the  state.  During  the  ten  year  period  ending  March  31,1 901 , 
the  number  of  express  delivery  services  in  the  United  Kingdom 
increased  from  108,000  to  8o4,ooo.1 

The  impressed  stamp  to  which  newspapers  were  subject  until 
1855  enabled  them  to  pass  free  by  post.  After  this  stamp  ceased  to 
be  compulsory,  newspapers  which  bore  it  passed  free  from  other 
postage  until  1870  —  when  the  halfpenny  rate  was  established  — 
and  were  known  as  "free"2  as  distinguished  from  "chargeable" 
newspapers.  Of  the  former  there  were  carried  by  post  in  1856  over 
53  millions,  of  the  latter,  including  book  packets,  20  millions.  In 
1875  the  number  of  newspapers  delivered  in  the  United  Kingdom 
had  increased  to  121  millions.  For  the  five  year  period  ending 
March  31,  1881,  the  average  yearly  number  had  increased  to  a 
little  over  129  millions,  for  the  next  five  years  to  something  over 
142  millions.  During  the  period  ending  March  31,  1891,  they  had 
increased  to  155  millions,  there  being  an  actual  decrease  in  one 
year.  In  the  period  following  there  was  an  average  yearly  increase 
of  only  three  millions  and  the  ensuing  five  years  ending  March  31, 
1901,  showed  a  decrease  of  about  one  million.3 

The  book  post,  instituted  in  1848,  had  its  rates  reduced  in  1855 
and  again  in  1870  to  a  halfpenny  for  the  initial  two  ounces  and  an 
additional  j4d.  for  each  succeeding  two  ounces.  In  1892  its  scope 
was  greatly  enlarged  and  the  expression  Halfpenny  Post,  which  is 
now  its  official  name,  better  illustrates  its  cosmopolitan  character 

1  Rep.  P.  G.,  1893,  p.  10;  1897,  p.  3;  1901,  app.,  p.  28. 

2  Free  newspapers  also  included  those  coming  from  abroad  on  which  no  charge  was 
made  in  the  United  Kingdom. 

8  Rep.  P.  G.,  1896,  p.  2;  1859,  pp.  28  f.;  1881,  app.,  p.  12;  1891,  app.,  p.  17;  1901, 
app.,  p.  27. 


rrAN  INSTRUMENT  OF  POPULAR  COMMUNICATION      69 

for  it  now  includes  all  printed  documents  of  a  conventional,  formal, 
or  impersonal  character.  From  1872  to  1875  the  number  of  articles 
carried  by  the  Halfpenny  or  Book  Post  increased  from  114  mil- 
lions to  158  millions.  The  yearly  average  during  the  next  five  years 
was  204  millions;  during  the  following  five,  305  millions  and  for  the 
five  year  period  ending  March  31,  1891,  they  had  increased  to  418 
millions.  During  the  next  five  years  there  was  a  still  greater  aver- 
age increase  to  596  millions  and  the  average  for  the  postal  year  end- 
ing in  March,  1901,  was  732  millions.1  The  rates  for  the  Inland 
Pattern  and  Sample  Post,  established  in  1863,  were  assimilated 
with  those  of  the  Book  Post  in  1870.  It  was  abolished  or  rather  in- 
corporated with  the  Letter  Post  in  the  following  year  but  was  rees- 
tablished in  1887,  the  rates  being  a  penny  for  the  first  four  ounces 
and  Y^d.  for  each  succeeding  two  ounces,  but,  when  the  Jubilee 
letter  rates  were  published,  it  lost  its  raison  d'etre  and  was  abol- 
ished for  inland  purposes.2 

Post  cards  were  introduced  in  1870,  being  carried  ior^d.  each 
prepaid,  id.  when  payment  was  made  on  delivery.3  In  addition 
to  the  stamp  a  charge  was  made  to  cover  the  cost  of  the  material 
in  the  card  itself.  Somewhat  later  reply  post  cards  were  issued  for 
the  inland  service  and  arrangements  were  made  for  the  use  of  in- 
ternational reply  post  cards.  In  1894,  private  post  cards,  to  which 
a  halfpenny  stamp  was  affixed,  were  allowed  to  pass  by  post.  The 
resulting  enormous  growth 4  in  their  number  showed  that  the  priv- 
ilege was  appreciated.  In  less  than  five  years  they  were  estimated 
to  form  5  per  cent  of  the  total  number  passing  through  the  post.5 
Shortly  after,  the  prohibition  of  any  writing  save  the  address  on  the 
face  of  a  post  card  was  withdrawn  and  it  was  provided  that  the 
address  side  of  all  mail  matter  might  be  used  for  purposes  of  cor- 
respondence provided  that  it  did  not  obscure  the  address,  encroach 
upon  the  stamp,  or  prove  in  any  way  inconvenient.  Formerly,  so 

1  Rep.  P.  G.,  1896,  p.  2;  1903,  p.  5;  1904,  p.  5;  1881,  app.,  p.  12;  1891,  app.,  p.  17; 
1901,  app.,  p.  27. 

8  Ibid.,  1864,  p.  29;  1896,  p.  2;  Acct.  6r  P.,  1871,  xxxvii  (pp.  1-2). 
*  Charge  on  unpaid  inland  post  cards  reduced  to  id.  each  in  1896. 

4  They  increased  from  248  millions  for  the  postal  year  1893-94  to  312  millions 
during  the  ensuing  year. 

5  Rep.  P.  G.,  1896,  p.  2;  1882,  p.  4;  1895,  p.  18;  1900,  p.  i. 


70        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

far  as  mail  matter  other  than  post  cards  was  concerned,  the  right 
half  of  the  face  side  was  reserved  for  the  address.1  During  the  four 
five-year  periods  from  1881  to  the  year  ending  3ist  March,  1901, 
the  average  numbers  of  post  cards  delivered  yearly  in  the  United 
Kingdom  were  about  108  millions,  152  millions,  272  millions,  and 
379  millions.2 

It  had  not  been  usual  for  England  to  lag  behind  the  continent  in 
the  adoption  of  new  postal  ideas.  Such  was  the  case,  however,  with 
reference  to  the  adoption  of  the  convenient  post  card  and  the  no  less 
useful  parcel  post.  In  1880  the  question  of  the  establishment  of  an 
international  parcel  post  was  discussed  in  Paris  and  an  agreement 
was  reached  for  the  transmission  throughout  nearly  the  whole  of 
Europe  of  parcels  not  exceeding  three  kilogrammes  in  weight.  It 
was  impossible  for  Great  Britain  to  sign,  as  she  had  no  inland  parcel 
post  at  the  time  and  found  it  difficult  to  establish  one  as  an  agree- 
ment with  the  railways  was  necessary.  A  movement  was  at  once 
begun  for  one  and  it  was  started  three  years  later.  The  first  de- 
spatch of  foreign  and  colonial  parcels  took  place  in  1885,  and  at  the 
beginning  of  the  following  year  arrangements  were  completed  for 
the  exchange  of  parcels  with  twenty-seven  different  countries,  in- 
cluding some  of  the  colonies,  India,  and  Egypt.  An  agreement  was 
concluded  in  1904  with  the  United  States  for  the  interchange  of 
parcels  by  post  at  the  rate  of  25.  for  each  and  the  maximum  is  two 
kilogrammes.  These  cannot  be  insured  and  customs'  duties  must 
be  paid  by  the  recipient.  The  previously  existing  agreement  for 
parcels  weighing  as  much  as  eleven  pounds  each,  providing  for 
insurance  and  the  prepayment  of  customs'  duties,  continues  to  be 
carried  on  by  the  American  Express  Company.3  Since  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  inland  parcel  post  the  question  of  collecting  the 
value  of  the  parcels  on  delivery,  if  the  sender  and  the  recipient  so 
desire,  has  often  been  raised.  Owing  to  the  opposition  of  retail 
dealers,  it  has  not  yet  been  adopted  although  in  operation  in  India 
and  nearly  all  important  foreign  countries.  In  the  words  of  the 
Postmaster-General  —  "In  these  circumstances  I  am  by  no  means 

*  Rep.  P.  G.,  1897,  p.  5- 

1  Ibid.,  1881,  app.,  p.  12;  1891,  app.,  p.  17;  1901,  app.,  p.  27. 
»  Ibid.,  1881,  p.  4;  1885,  p.  4;  1886,  p.  5;  1895,  p.  21;  1905,  p.  7;  The  Economist, 
1881,  Nov.  5,  p.  1369;  1882,  July  29,  p.  939. 


AN  INSTRUMENT  OF  POPULAR  COMMUNICATION      71 

satisfied,  so  far  as  my  enquiries  have  gone,  that  the  apprehensions 
expressed  by  retail  traders  in  this  country  afford  sufficient  cause  for 
withholding  a  convenience  from  the  community  at  large." 1 

The  various  changes  and  improvements  adopted  by  the  Post 
Office  since  1840,  in  addition  to  those  already  named,  are  so  numer- 
ous that  only  the  most  important  can  be  considered  here.  Among 
others  the  amalgamation  of  the  London  District  Post  with  the 
General  Post  in  1854  deserves  attention.  In  the  following  year  it 
was  ordered  that  letters  should  be  sorted  in  each  of  the  ten  postal 
districts  into  which  London  was  divided  instead  of  being  taken  to 
the  General  Office  at  St.  Martin's-le-Grand  as  had  been  customary, 
thus  materially  lessening  the  expenses  of  sorting  and  facilitating 
their  delivery.2 

In  1840  there  were  but  4028  post  offices  in  the  Kingdom;  in  1854, 
9973. 3  Road  letter  boxes  were  introduced  in  1858  and  the  public 
receptacles  for  the  receipt  of  letters  numbered  13, 3 70  in  1859  as  com- 
pared with  4518  before  the  establishment  of  penny  postage.4  In 
1829  the  total  number  of  persons  in  England  employed  in  Post 
Office  business  numbered  only  5000.  Twenty-five  years  later  for 
the  United  Kingdom  over  21,000  were  so  employed;  in  1880  over 
47,000,  of  whom,  however,  more  than  11,000  were  engaged  wholly 
hi  telegraph  duties.  By  1890  these  had  increased  to  nearly  118,000 
and  by  1900  to  173,000  of  whom  35,000  were  females.5 

The  money  order  business  which  originated  as  a  private  specul- 
ation in  1791  was  the  result  of  an  attempt  to  check  the  frequent 
theft  of  letters  containing  money.  In  1838,  shortly  after  its  acqui- 
sition from  the  proprietors,  the  rates  were  reduced  and  the  number 
of  money  orders  transmitted  increased  from  188,000  in  1839  to 
587,000  in  1840  and  to  1,500,000  in  1842.  From  the  latter  date 
until  1879  the  increase  both  in  the  number  and  in  the  value  of 
money  orders  transmitted  was  steady,  aided  by  the  increase  in  1862 
from  £5  to  £10  of  the  maximum  transmissible  sum  and  by  the  re- 
duction in  rates  in  1871.  The  penny  rate  of  that  year  for  orders  to 
the  value  of  ten  shillings  was  a  mistake,  for  the  actual  cost  to  the 

1  Rep.  P.  G.,  1904,  pp.  4-5.      2  Ibid.,  1855,  p.  12;  1856,  p.  9;  1860,  p.  8.  , 
'  Ibid.,  1855,  p.  21.  4  Ibid.,  1855-59. 

5  Rep.  Commrs.,  1829,  ii,  p.  137;  Rep.  P.  G.,  1855,  p.  20;  1881,  app.,  p.  16;  1891, 
app-i  PP-  34-35J  1901,  app.,  p.  50. 


^2        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

state  of  issuing  and  paying  a  money  order  was  about  3 d.  In  order 
to  meet  this  difficulty  a  simpler  form  of  order  was  issued  in  1881 
with  an  initial  rate  as  low  as  half  a  penny,  the  cost  of  which  to  the 
Post  Office  was  much  less  than  that  of  the  old  kind  of  order.  These 
postal  notes,  as  they  were  called,  were  issued  for  new  denomina- 
tions in  1884  and  1905  and  the  rates  on  some  of  them  were  dimin- 
ished. The  lowest  rate  for  a  money  order  was  for  a  few  months 
fixed  at  3 d.  but,  as  this  aroused  considerable  opposition,  the  present 
rate  of  2d.  was  soon  after  substituted,  and  in  1903  the  maximum 
sum  transmissible  was  increased  to  £40  with  a  few  accompanying 
changes  in  rates.  In  1889  an  opportunity  was  given  in  the  case 
of  a  few  towns  for  sending  telegraphic  money  orders  and  during 
the  ensuing  three  years  the  privileged  area  was  greatly  extended. 
In  1897  the  expenses  were  considerably  reduced.  In  1858  arrange- 
ments were  made  for  the  exchange  of  money  orders  with  Canada 
and  by  1862  similar  agreements  were  decided  upon  with  most  of 
the  other  colonies,  but  foreign  countries  were  not  included  until 
somewhat  later  and  in  1880  colonial  and  foreign  rates  were  harmo- 
nized. Rates  were  reduced  in  1883, 1896,  and  1903,  and  in  the  last 
year  the  inland  £40  limit  was  agreed  upon  with  most  foreign  coun- 
tries and  some  of  the  colonies. 

Inland  money  orders  which  started  to  decrease  in  amount  in  1878- 
79  steadily  continued  their  downward  course  until  1891-92, ^when 
there  was  a  slight  recovery  for  a  few  years,  but  since  1903-04  the 
number  has  somewhat  diminished.  During  the  postal  year  ending 
in  March,  1907,  the  number  of  inland  money  orders  transmitted  was 
nearly  eleven  millions  as  compared  with  nearly  nineteen  millions 
for  the  year  ending  March,  1879.  This  decrease  in  numbers  is 
largely  due  to  the  lowering  of  the  registration  fee  for  letters,  the 
introduction  of  postal  notes,  and  the  use  of  other  means  for  trans- 
mitting small  sums  of  money.  The  total  value  of  inland  money 
orders  also  began  to  diminish  in  1879,  but  began  to  recover  in  1886, 
and  has  since  increased  quite  uniformly,  being  in  1907  nearly 
£38,000,000  as  compared  with  £29,000,000  in  I879.1  The  increase 
in  the  number  of  postal  notes  has  been  enormous,  although  there 

1  i  Rep.  P.  G.,  1896,  pp.  28-32;  1897,  pp.  10-11;  1881,  app.,  p.  37;  1891,  app., 
p.  53;  1901,  app.,  p.  69;  1907,  p.  74. 


'AN  INSTRUMENT  OF  POPULAR  COMMUNICATION     73 

was  an  apparent  falling  off  in  the  years  1903  and  1904  due  to  the 
increased  number  of  denominations  offered  for  sale.  For  the  first 
complete  postal  year  after  their  authorization  the  number  issued 
was  nearly  four  and  a  half  millions  of  the  value  of  £2,000,000,  and 
for  the  postal  year  1906-07  the  number  was  102,000,000  of  the 
value  of  nearly  £41, 000,000. -1  On  the  other  hand,  while  inland 
money  orders  were  decreasing  in  number,  colonial  and  foreign 
orders  increased  in  general  both  in  number  and  value.2 

The  establishment  of  Post  Office  savings  banks  is  naturally 
closely  connected  with  the  money  order  department  since  both  of 
these  departures  from  a  purely  postal  character  were  adopted  at 
about  the  same  time,  for  much  the  same  reasons,  and  were  opposed 
on  the  ground  of  their  infringement  upon  the  banking  prerogative. 
In  1859  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Sikes  of  Huddersfield  to  bring  a  Post 
Office  Savings  Bank  into  being  were  supported  by  Mr.  Gladstone, 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  and  Sir  Rowland  Hill,  the  then  Secre- 
tary of  the  Post  Office,  and  two  years  later  it  was  established  by 
Parliamentary  sanction.3  The  main  features  of  the  system  were 
that  deposits  could  be  withdrawn  not  later  than  ten  days  after 
demand;  that  accounts  should  be  kept  at  London  alone,  all  money 
being  remitted  to  and  from  headquarters;  that  the  total  amount 
deposited  should  be  handed  over  to  the  "  Commissioners  for  the  Re- 
duction of  the  National  Debt "  for  investment  in  government  securi- 
ties, and  that  interest  on  complete  pounds  at  the  rate  of  2^  per 
cent  should  be  allowed  to  depositors.  As  the  interests  of  the  poorer 
classes  were  made  the  primary  object  in  establishing  the  banks, 
deposits  were  limited  in  the  case  of  individuals  to  £30  a  year  and 
£150  in  all,  later  increased  to  £50  a  year  and  £200  in  all,  but 
Friendly  Societies  were  allowed  to  deposit  without  limit  and  Pro- 
vident and  Charitable  Societies  might  deposit  within  limits  of  £100 
a  year  and  £300  in  all  or,  with  the  consent  of  the  Commissioners, 
beyond  these  limits.4 

In  1880  the  savings  banks  were  made  a  medium  for  investing  in 
government  stock  at  a  trifling  expense  varying  from  gd.  to  2S.  $d. 

1  Rep.  P.  G.,  1891,  app.,  p.  59;  1901,  app.,  p.  77;  1907,  p.  84. 

2  Ibid.,  1891,  app.,  pp.  52-53;  1892,  p.  12. 

*  24  Viet.,  c.  14.     4  Rep.  P.  G.,  1897,  app.,  pp.  32-36. 


74        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

and  with  the  privilege  of  having  dividends  collected  free  from 
further  charge.  These  special  advantages  were  confined  to  invest- 
ments from  £10  to  £100  in  value,  the  latter  being  the  maximum 
sum  in  any  one  year,  and  the  investments  themselves  might  be 
sums  especially  deposited  or  transferred  from  a  depositor's  ac- 
count. In  1887  the  minimum  amount  of  stock  purchasable  was 
reduced  to  is.,  and  anyone  who  had  purchased  stock  through  a 
savings  bank  might  have  it  transferred  to  his  own  name  in  the 
Bank  of  England.  In  1893  the  limits  of  investment  were  raised 
from  £100  to  £200  in  one  year,  from  £300  to  £500  in  all,  and  the 
Post  Office  was  empowered  to  invest  in  stock  any  accumulations 
of  ordinary  deposits  above  the  limit  of  £200,  unless  instructions 
were  given  by  the  depositor  to  the  contrary. 

An  act  was  passed  in  1864  enabling  the  Postmaster-General  to 
insure  the  lives  of  individuals  between  the  ages  of  fourteen  and 
sixty  for  amounts  varying  from  £20  to  £100.  He  might  also  grant 
annuities,  immediate  or  deferred,  to  any  one  of  ten  years  of  age  or 
upward  for  sums  between  £4  and  £50.  The  act  came  into  opera- 
tion in  certain  towns  of  England  and  Wales  in  the  following  year, 
and  the  system  remained  unaltered  until  1884.  During  this  period 
of  nineteen  years,  7064  policies  of  insurance  were  effected,  repre- 
senting a  yearly  average  of  372  policies  amounting  to  an  average 
of  £79  each.  The  contracts  for  immediate  annuities  numbered 
13,402  or  an  average  of  705  a  year  and  there  were  978  contracts  for 
deferred  annuities.  The  value  of  immediate  annuities  granted  was 
£187,117  and  of  deferred  £19,938,  but  a  part  of  the  latter  never 
came  into  payment  as  the  purchasers  were  relieved  from  their  bar- 
gains upon  their  own  representation. 

A  new  system  associated  with  Mr.  Fawcett's  name  was  pre- 
scribed in  1882.  Its  merit  consisted  in  linking  the  annuity  and  in- 
surance business  with  the  Savings  Bank  Department  so  that  pay- 
ments for  annuities  and  insurance  are  made  through  deposits  in  the 
savings  banks.  It  was  further  provided  that  for  persons  between  the 
ages  of  fourteen  and  sixty-five  the  limits  of  insurance  should  be 
from  £5  to  £100  and  that  sums  of  money  might  be  insured  payable 
at  the  age  of  sixty  or  at  the  expiration  of  a  term  of  years.  For  annu- 
ities the  minimum  was  reduced  to  £i,  the  maximum  increased  to 


AN  INSTRUMENT  OF  POPULAR   COMMUNICATION     75 

£100,  and  the  annuity  and  insurance  privileges  were  extended  to  all 
places  having  savings  banks.  Owing  to  the  necessary  preparation 
of  tables  the  new  regulations  did  not  actually  come  into  operation 
until  1884.  The  growth  of  life  insurance  and  annuity  business  was 
slow  as  compared  with  the  rapid  growth  of  the  savings  deposits. 
Intended,  however,  primarily  for  the  poor,  it  has  not  been  without 
success,  especially  as  the  premiums  charged  are  lower  than  those 
of  insurance  companies  or  industrial  societies.1 

In  addition  to  joining  the  insurance  and  annuity  business  with  the 
savings  banks  operations,  Mr.  Fawcett  was  responsible  for  a  rapid 
increase  in  the  number  of  branch  saving  offices  in  villages,  for  the 
special  attention  paid  to  "navvies"  and  workmen  at  their  places 
of  employment,  and  above  all  for  the  arrangement  for  making  small 
deposits  by  slips  of  postage  stamps.  In  1887  by  act  of  Parliament 
the  Postmaster-General  was  empowered  to  offer  facilities  for  the 
transfer  of  money  from  one  account  to  another  and  for  the  easier 
disposal  of  the  funds  of  deceased  depositors.  In  1891  the  maximum 
permissible  deposits  of  one  person  were  increased  from  £150  to  £200 
inclusive  of  interest.  The  annual  limit  remained  at  £30  but  it  wras 
provided  that,  irrespective  of  that  limit,  depositors  might  replace 
the  amount  of  any  one  withdrawal  made  in  the  same  year.  Where 
principal  and  interest  together  exceeded  £200,  the  interest  was 
henceforth  to  cease  on  the  excess  alone,  whereas  previously  it  had 
ceased  entirely  when  it  had  brought  an  account  to  £200.  The  next 
development  arose  from  the  Free  Education  Act  of  1891  in  order  to 
make  it  easier  for  children  and  parents  to  save  the  school  pence 
which  they  no  longer  had  to  pay.  Special  stamp  slips  were  pre- 
pared to  be  sold  to  children,  and  clerks  attended  the  schools  with 
these  slips.  About  1400  schools  adopted  the  scheme  at  once  and 
three  years  later  the  number  had  risen  to  3000,  but  the  movement 
seemed  by  1895  to  have  spent  its  force. 

In  1893  the  annual  limit  of  deposits  was  increased  to  £50  and, 
as  we  have  already  seen  in  another  connection,  any  accumulations 
over  £200  were  to  be  invested  in  Government  Stock  unless  the  de- 

r  1  Rep.  P.  G.,  1897,  app.,  pp.  32-38.  The  insurance  and  annuity  business  of  the 
Post  Office  has  been  described  by  the  Economist  as  a  practical  failure  because  of  the 
government's  refusal  to  solicit  business  (Economist  1881,  Nov.  5,  p.  1369). 


76        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

positor  gave  instructions  to  the  contrary.  In  the  same  year  ar- 
rangements were  made  for  the  withdrawal  of  deposits  by  telegram. 
A  depositor  might  telegraph  for  his  money  and  have  his  warrant 
sent  by  return  of  post  at  a  cost  of  about  gd.  or  the  warrant  also 
might  be  telegraphed  to  him  at  a  total  cost  of  about  is.  $d.  In  1905 
a  rule  was  introduced  by  which  a  depositor,  on  presentation  of  his 
pass-book  at  any  post  office  doing  savings  bank  business,  may  with- 
draw on  demand  not  more  than  £i.  This  obviates  the  expense  of 
telegraphing  and,  that  it  was  appreciated,  is  shown  by  the  fact 
that  during  the  first  six  months  after  the  privilege  was  extended 
there  were  nearly  two  millions  of  "withdrawals  on  demand,"  form- 
ing nearly  one  half  of  the  total  number.  As  a  result  the  number 
of  telegraphic  withdrawals  fell  from  227,573  f°r  tne  postal  year 
1904-05  to  180,996  for  the  year  1905-06. 1 

There  has  been  a  steady  and  pronounced  growth  in  savings  bank 
business  since  its  establishment.  This  growth  has  shown  itself  in 
the  increased  number  of  banks,  of  deposits,  and  of  the  total  amounts 
deposited.  The  average  amount  of  each  deposit  has  varied  some- 
what from  £3  6s.  in  1862  to  £2  in  1881,  but  since  this  date  it  has 
increased  slowly  but  steadily  and  in  1901  it  stood  at  £2  145.  2^., 
which  is  about  the  average  yearly  amount  since  1862.  At  the  end 
of  the  year  1900  over  £135,000,000  were  on  deposit  in  the  Post 
Office  savings  banks.2  The  increase  in  amounts  invested  in  govern- 
ment stock  has  not  been  by  any  means  so  pronounced  but  there 
has  been  an  increase.  In  1881  we  find  that  nearly  £700,000  were  so 
invested,  in  1891  nearly  £1,000,000,  and  in  1900  a  little  over 
£i,ooo,ooo.3  So  far  as  annuities  are  concerned,  the  immediate 
seem  to  be  considerably  more  popular  than  the  deferred.  The 
purchase  money  receipts  for  the  former  were  £184,000  in  1881, 
£296,000  in  1891,  and  have  since  increased  more  rapidly  to  £728,- 
ooo  in  1900,  with  an  actual  decrease,  however,  for  the  four  preced- 
ing years.  The  receipts  for  the  purchase  of  deferred  annuities 
amounted  to  £5243  in  1881,  £12,578  in  1891  and  £14,283  in  1900, 
also  a  decrease  since  1896.  The  amounts  received  as  premiums  for 

1  Rep.  P.  G.,  1897,  app.,  pp.  32-36;  1906,  pp.  12-13;  56  and  57  Viet.,  c.  59. 

2  Ibid.,  1881,  app.,  pp.  32-33;  1891,  app.,  p.  46;  1901,  p.  60;  1907,  p.  67. 
9  Ibid.,  1891,  app.,  p.  47;  1901,  app.,  p.  62. 


*AN  INSTRUMENT  OF  POPULAR  COMMUNICATION     77 

life  insurance  policies  have  also  been  rather  disappointing,  having 
increased  from  £10,967  in  1881  to  £15,073  in  1891  and  to  £22,185 
in  I900.1 

The  increasing  use  of  railway  trains  for  the  conveyance  of  the 
mails  has  presented  new  and  difficult  problems  with  reference  to 
the  authority  of  the  Postmaster-General  over  mail  trains  and  rea- 
sonable payments  to  the  railway  companies.  So  far  as  the  method 
for  ascertaining  the  rate  of  payment  was  concerned,  a  difficulty 
arose  as  to  whether  the  Post  Office  should  pay  any  part  of  the  tolls 
as  distinguished  from  operating  expenses.  Major  Harness,  a  Post 
Office  official,  stated  that  in  discussing  this  question  with  Robert 
Stephenson  in  the  case  of  the  London  and  Birmingham  Railway  it 
had  been  agreed  that  tollage  should  not  be  paid  but  only  the  out- 
of-pocket  expenses,  this  being  in  conformity  with  the  principles 
adopted  in  paying  for  mail  coaches.  The  question  of  tollage  was 
not  mentioned  by  the  Railway  Mails  Act  (10  and  n  Viet.,  c.  85), 
but  Major  Harness,  in  his  evidence  before  a  parliamentary  com- 
mittee, stated  that  he,  as  an  arbitrator,  estimated  the  tollage  pay- 
able by  the  Post  Office  by  finding  out  how  much  each  ton,  if  the 
road  were  fully  occupied,  should  contribute  to  return  10  per  cent 
upon  the  share  capital  and  5  per  cent  on  the  bonds,  the  Post  Office 
to  pay  its  proportion  according  to  the  weight  of  mail  matter  car- 
ried. The  cost  of  locomotive  power  was  also  taken  into  count  and 
the  carriage  accommodation  was  paid  for  on  the  basis  of  what  the 
railways  charged  each  other.2  In  addition  to  these  items  the  com- 
mittee recommended  that  the  expenses  for  station  accommodation, 
the  additional  cost  of  the  working  staff,  and  interference  with  ordi- 
nary traffic  should  also  be  taken  into  account.3  In  the  event  of  a 
failure  on  the  part  of  the  Post  Office  and  a  railway  company  to  come 
to  an  agreement  as  to  the  amount  payable,  each  of  the  parties  nomi- 
nated an  arbitrator  whose  first  duty  was  to  select  an  umpire.  Each 
arbitrator  was  required  to  present  his  case  in  writing  to  the  umpire 
and  to  attend  in  person  if  required.  The  umpire  was  supposed  to 
give  his  decision  within  twenty-eight  days  after  the  receipt  of  the 

1  Rep.  P.  G.,  1891,  app.,  p.  48;  1901,  app.,  p.  63. 

2  Rep.  Com.,  1854,  xi,  411,  pp.  370-371. 
8  Ibid.,  411,  p.  14. 


78         THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

cases.1  In  1893  it  was  provided  by  act  of  Parliament  that  when 
any  dispute  arose  between  the  Post  Office  and  a  railway,  the  ques- 
tion should  be  taken  to  the  Railway  and  Canal  Commission  for 
settlement  instead  of  being  left  to  arbitration.2  The  Postmaster- 
General  has  also  been  authorized  to  make  use  of  tramways  for 
transporting  the  mails,  and  in  1897  the  experiment  was  made  of 
using  motor  vans  for  the  same  purpose.  A  few  years  later  the 
Postmaster-General  expressed  himself  as  "doubtful  whether  a 
thoroughly  reliable  motor  vehicle  suitable  for  Post  Office  work  has 
yet  been  found."  However,  in  1906-07  about  thirty-five  mail 
services  were  performed  by  motors,  the  work  being  undertaken  by 
contractors  who  provide  the  vans  and  employ  the  drivers.  They 
have  proved  to  be  more  economical  than  horse  vans  when  the  load 
is  heavy,  the  distance  considerable,  and  greater  speed  desirable.3 

The  expenditure  for  the  conveyance  of  mails  by  the  railways  for 
the  year  ending  5th  January,  1838,  amounted  to  only  £1743.  In 
1840  this  had  increased  to  £52,860,  in  1850  to  £230,079,  in  1860  to 
£490,223,  in  1870  to  £587,296,  in  1880  to  £701,070  and  in  1890  to 
£905,968.  By  1896  the  million  mark  had  been  reached  and  after 
that  year  all  the  expenses  for  the  conveyance  of  the  mails  are 
grouped  together.  For  the  following  year  this  total  was  £1,453,517, 
the  payment  for  mail  coaches  in  the  preceding  year,  which  are  here 
included,  being  £365,000.  In  1906  the  total  expenditure  for  the 
"conveyance  of  the  mails"  was  £i,82i,54i.4 

In  common  with  the  members  of  other  branches  of  the  civil  ser- 
vice the  postal  employees,  prior  to  1855,  were  political  appointees. 
The  appointment  of  a  patronage  secretary  had  relieved  members  of 
Parliament  from  the  odium  incurred  as  a  result  of  this  reprehensi- 
ble method  of  manning  the  service,  but  it  is  doubtful  whether  any 
improvement  in  the  personnel  of  the  force  actually  resulted  or  was 
even  anticipated.  With  the  adoption  between  1855  and  1870  of  the 
principle  that  fitness  should  be  tested  by  competitive  examinations, 
the  vast  majority  of  the  members  of  the  postal  establishment  came 

1  Rep.  Com.,  411,  p.  280;  i  and  2  Viet.,  c.  98.     2  56  and  57  Viet.,  c.  38. 
1  56  and  57  Viet.,  c.  38;  Rep.  P.  G.,  1898,  pp.  9  f.;  1907,  p.  3. 
4  Parl.  Papers,  1852-53,  xcv,  p.  3;  Rep.  P.  G.,  1861,  p.  20;  1872,  pp.  26-27;  1884, 
p.  56;  1893,  p.  78;  1896,  p.  86;  1906,  p.  92. 


AN  INSTRUMENT  OF  POPULAR  COMMUNICATION     79 

under  its  influence.  At  the  same  time  the  postmasters  of  small 
rural  communities,  where  the  postal  revenue  was  insignificant,1 
still  continued  to  be  nominated  by  the  local  member.  In  1896  this 
power  was  abridged,  but  members  still  continued  to  exercise  a  lim- 
ited right  of  recommendation.  Finally  in  1907  the  Postmaster- 
General  announced  that,  though  due  weight  should  continue  to  be 
given  to  the  opinions  of  members  in  the  case  of  the  appointment  of 
these  rural  postmasters,  such  recommendations  should  be  based  on 
personal  knowledge  and  should  carry  no  more  weight  than  the 
opinion  of  any  other  competent  person.2 

No  question  which  has  arisen  in  the  internal  management  of  the 
Post  Office  has  presented  more  difficult  problems  for  solution  than 
that  of  the  condition  of  the  postal  employees  with  reference  to  hours 
of  labour,  promotion,  and  remuneration.  The  first  complaints 
which  attract  our  attention  during  the  period  under  discussion 
came  rather  from  outside  the  service  as  a  protest  against  Sunday 
labour  in  the  Post  Office,  but  the  fact  that  many  of  the  postal  serv- 
ants were  deprived  of  their  holiday  and  often  needlessly  so  de- 
prived was  a  real  grievance  advanced  by  the  employees  themselves. 
It  had  been  the  policy  of  the  Post  Oifice  for  some  time  not  to  grant 
any  application  for  the  withdrawal  of  a  Sunday  post  if  there  were 
any  dissentients  to  the  application.  In  1850  all  Sunday  delivery 
was  abolished  for  a  time,  but  this  hardly  met  the  approval  even  of 
the  strict  Sabbatarians,  and  the  rule  was  promulgated  the  same 
year  that  no  post  should  be  withdrawn  or  curtailed  except  upon 
the  application  of  the  receivers  of  six  sevenths  of  the  letters  so 
affected.  Of  the  rural  posts  in  the  United  Kingdom  at  that  time 
more  than  half  did  no  work  on  Sunday  and  about  half  of  the  re- 
mainder had  their  walks  curtailed,  while  in  certain  cases  a  substi- 
tute was  provided  on  alternate  Sundays.  A  committee  reporting  on 
the  question  in  1871  advised  that  it  should  be  made  easier  to  dis- 
continue a  Sunday  delivery  by  requiring  that  a  Sunday  rural  post 
should  be  taken  off  if  the  receivers  of  two  thirds  of  the  letters  de- 

1  Less  than  £120  in  England,  less  than  £100  in  Scotland  and  Ireland. 

2  D.  B.  Eaton,  Civil  Service  in  Great  Britain,  New  York,  1880,  pp.  75,  307,  308; 
Parl.  Deb.,  3d  ser.,  ccxxxix,  col.  211;  cclv,  col.  1575;  ibid.,  4th  sen,  clix,  col.  397; 
clxx,  col.  641. 


80    THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

sired  it,  that  no  delivery  in  the  country  should  be  granted  except 
upon  the  demand  of  the  receivers  of  the  same  proportion  of  letters, 
and  that  the  principle  of  providing  substitutes  on  alternate  Sun- 
days should  be  more  generally  adopted.  This  report  was  favour- 
ably received  and  its  recommendations  adopted  in  the  early 
seventies.  In  London  and  many  of  the  provincial  towns  there  is  no 
ordinary  Sunday  delivery,  and  so  little  advantage  is  taken  of  the 
opportunity  for  express  delivery  on  Sundays  that  there  is  presum- 
ably no  strong  demand  for  a  regular  Sunday  delivery.  Various 
measures  advocated  for  the  relief  of  the  town  carriers  were  also 
adopted.1 

In  1858  an  attempt  was  made  by  the  Post  Office  employees,  led 
by  the  letter  carriers,  to  secure  higher  wages  and  to  obtain  a  remedy 
for  certain  other  grievances  advanced  by  them.  Sir  George  Bower 
asked  for  a  select  committee  of  enquiry  in  their  behalf  but  this  was 
refused  by  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer.  He  agreed,  however, 
to  the  appointment  of  a  committee  composed  of  Post  Office  and 
Treasury  officials,  but  their  personnel  was  so  repugnant  to  the  em- 
ployees that  they  refused  to  give  evidence,  and  as  a  result  of  this 
and  other  difficulties  four  of  their  leaders  were  suspended.  The 
protest  on  the  part  of  the  men  was  not  entirely  unproductive,  for  in 
the  end  the  Postmaster-General  granted  them  a  slight  increase  in 
their  wages.  At  the  same  time  he  referred  to  the  following  rates  of 
wages  in  support  of  his  contention  that  there  was  no  good  ground 
for  dissatisfaction  among  the  servants  of  the  Post  Office:  for 
carriers,  195.  a  week  advancing  to  235.;  for  sorters  of  the  first  class, 
255.  to  305.;  of  the  second  class,  325.  to  385.;  and  of  the  third  class, 
40$.  to  50$.  "  Carriers  also  obtain  Christmas  boxes  averaging,  so  it 
is  said,  £8  a  year.  In  addition  these  wages  are  exclusive  of  uni- 
form, of  pension  in  old  age,  and  of  assistance  for  assurance."  2 

The  first  thorough-going  attempts  to  remedy  the  grievances  of 
the  Post  Office  employees  were  made  in  1881  and  1882  by  Mr. 
Fawcett  in  his  capacity  as  Postmaster-General.  His  scheme  for 

1  Acct.  6*  P.,  1872,  xxxvi,  337,  pp.  1-2;  Rep.  Commrs.,  1872,  xviii  [c.  485],  pp.  1-5; 
Rep.  P.  G.,  1872,  p.  6;  Parl.  Deb.,  4th  ser.,  xciv,  coll.  1358-60,  1364-65. 

2  Rep.  P.  G.,  1859,  pp.  40-43;  Parl.  Deb.,  3d  ser.,  clix,  coll.  211-214;  clxviii,  coll. 
675-82. 


AN  INSTRUMENT  OF  POPULAR  COMMUNICATION     8 1 

improving  the  pay  and  position  of  the  sorters,  sorting  clerks,  tele- 
graphists, postmen,  lobby  officers,  and  porters  resulted  in  a  mean 
annual  cost  to  the  Post  Office  of  £320,000.  In  1888, 1890,  and  1891, 
under  the  supervision  of  Mr.  Raikes,  improvements  were  made  in 
the  condition  of  the  chief  clerks  and  other  supervising  officers,  the 
sorting  clerks  and  telegraphists  in  the  provinces,  the  telegraphists, 
counter-men  and  sorters  in  London,  and  the  sorters  in  Dublin  and 
Edinburgh  at  an  additional  yearly  expense  of  £281,000.  While  the 
representatives  of  the  London  postmen  were  in  process  of  examin- 
ation, some  of  them  went  out  on  strike.  They  were  severely  pun- 
ished, some  450  men  being  dismissed  in  one  morning,  and  a  com- 
mittee was  appointed  to  enquire  into  the  complaints  of  the  London 
and  provincial  postmen.1  In  the  same  month  that  the  strike  took 
place  Mr.  Raikes  announced  increases  in  the  pay  of  the  postmen 
involving  an  additional  yearly  payment  of  £125,000.  The  revi- 
sions so  announced  from  1881  to  1894  have  been  estimated  to 
involve  an  increased  annual  expenditure  of  nearly  £748, ooo.2 

A  committee  was  appointed  in  1895  to  deal  with  the  discontent 
which  was  only  lessened,  not  silenced,  by  the  efforts  of  Messrs. 
Fawcett  and  Raikes.  This  was  composed  of  Lord  Tweedmouth,  Sir 
F.  Mowatt,  Mr.  Spencer  Walpole,  and  Mr.  Llewellyn  Smith,  and 
the  compromise  which  they  proposed  was  known  as  the  "Tweed- 
mouth  Settlement"  which  apparently  gave  little  satisfaction  at  the 
time  and  less  thereafter.  It  resulted  in  a  higher  average  rate  of 
payment,  but  dissatisfaction  was  felt  because  the  pay  for  some 
services  was  less  than  before.  The  basis  of  the  report  was  "  the  abo- 
lition of  classification  whereby  each  man  was  allowed  to  proceed  by 
annual  increments  to  the  maximum  pay  of  a  combined  class,  sub- 
ject only  to  an  efficiency-bar  which  he  may  not  pass  without  a  cer- 
tificate of  good  conduct  and  ability,  together  with  the  abolition  of 
allowances  for  special  services."  Differences  in  pay  according  to  the 
volume  of  business  in  particular  localities  were  left  untouched,  and 
this  was  the  cause  of  much  complaint.  Special  inducements  in  the 
shape  of  double  increments  were  offered  to  the  staff  on  the  postal 

1  Rep.  P.  G.,  1895,  pp.  9-11;  1891,  p.  3;  Parl.  Deb.,  30!  ser.,  cccxviii,  coll.  537, 1549; 
cccxlix,  col.  213. 
1  Rep.  P.  G.,  1895,  pp.  9-11. 


82         THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

and  telegraph  sides  to  learn  each  other's  work  in  order  to  lighten 
the  strain  which  might  otherwise  fall  on  a  particular  branch.  Over- 
time, Sunday  and  bank-holiday  pay  were  assimilated  throughout 
the  service,  and  efforts  were  made  to  reduce  the  hardship  resulting 
from  "split"  work,  so  called  from  the  fact  that  the  working  day 
of  many  of  the  men  was  divided  by  an  interval  when  there  was 
nothing  to  do.  The  higher  officials  were  acquitted  of  favouritism 
in  the  matter  of  promotion  and  of  "unfairness  and  undue  severity 
in  awarding  punishments  and  in  enforcing  discipline."  The  general 
charges  of  overcrowding  the  post  offices  and  leaving  them  in 
an  unsanitary  condition  were  also  rejected.  The  changes  proposed 
were  all  adopted  at  an  immediate  estimated  cost  of  £139,000  a 
year  and  an  ultimate  cost,  also  estimated,  of  £275,ooo.1  The 
Tweedmouth  Commission  in  its  turn  was  soon  followed  by  a  de- 
partmental committee,  composed  of  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  then 
Postmaster- General,  and  Mr.  Hanbury,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treas- 
ury, then  acting  as  the  representative  of  the  Post  Office  in  the 
House  of  Commons.  The  postal  employees  demanded  that  their 
grievances  should  be  laid  before  a  select  committee  composed  of 
members  of  the  House  of  Commons,  and  motions  to  that  effect 
were  introduced  year  after  year  only  to  meet  the  Government's 
disapproval.  The  most  important  demands  of  the  men  turned 
upon  the  questions  of  full  civil  rights,  complete  recognition  of 
their  unions,  the  employment  of  men  who  were  not  members  of 
the  civil  service,  and  the  old  difficulty  of  wages  and  hours.  So 
far  as  the  question  of  full  civil  rights  was  concerned,  the  Post  Office 
employees  had  been  granted  the  franchise  in  1874,  but  were  re- 
quired not  to  take  an  active  part  in  aiding  or  opposing  candidates 
for  election,  by  serving  on  committees  or  otherwise  making  them- 
selves unduly  conspicuous  in  elections.  The  men  demanded  that 
these  restrictions  should  be  withdrawn.  In  the  second  place,  the 
Postmaster- General  refused  to  receive  deputations  from  those  em- 
ployees not  directly  interested  in  the  question  at  stake,  refused  to 
recognize  officials  who  were  not  also  employees  of  the  Department, 
and  exercised  more  or  less  control  over  the  meetings  of  employees. 
Finally,  in  addition  to  the  general  demand  for  higher  wages  due  to 
1  Rep.  P.  G.,  1897,  pp.  27  f. 


AN  INSTRUMENT  OF  POPULAR  COMMUNICATION     83 

the  higher  cost  of  living,  the  telegraphists  contended  that  they  had 
been  deceived  by  the  promise  of  a  maximum  salary  of  £190  a  year, 
whereas  they  actually  received  only  £160.  Mr.  A.  Chamberlain 
opposed  the  appointment  of  a  select  committee  of  members  of  the 
House  of  Commons  because  of  the  pressure  likely  to  be  brought 
upon  them  and  because  of  their  unfitness  to  decide  upon  the  ques- 
tion at  issue.  He  agreed,  however,  after  consultation  with  various 
members  of  Parliament  and  the  men  themselves,  that  a  committee  of 
enquiry  might  reasonably  be  gran  ted,  composed  of  business  men  not 
in  the  Civil  Service  and  not  members  of  the  House  of  Commons.1 

In  accordance  with  this  promise  the  so-called  "Bradford  Com- 
mittee" was  appointed  to  report  on  "the  scales  of  pay  received 
by  the  undermentioned  classes  of  established  civil  servants  and 
whether,  having  regard  to  the  conditions  of  their  employment  and 
to  the  rates  current  in  other  occupations,  .  .  .  the  remuneration 
is  adequate."  In  the  meantime  Mr.  Chamberlain  retired,  but  his 
successor,  Lord  Stanley,  asked  that  the  enquiry  be  continued.  The 
members  of  this  committee,  interpreting  their  instructions  very 
loosely,  extended  their  report  to  include  their  own  recommenda- 
tions as  to  changes  in  pay,  and  refrained  entirely  from  making  any 
comparison  between  the  wages  of  postal  servants  and  those  in 
other  employments,  on  the  ground  that  such  information  was  easily 
accessible  from  the  statistics  published  by  the  Board  of  Trade. 
They  added  that  it  was  difficult  to  make  any  comparison  between 
a  national  and  a  private  service,  for  payment  according  to  results 
and  dismissal  at  the  will  of  the  employer  are  inapplicable  under  the 
state.  There  was  also  a  pension  fund  in  the  sendee,  the  present 
value  of  which  it  is  difficult  to  estimate.  In  their  own  words,  "It 
appears  to  us  that  the  adequacy  of  the  terms  now  obtaining  may 
be  tested  by  the  numbers  and  character  of  those  who  offer,  by  the 
capacity  they  show  on  trial,  and  finally  by  their  contentment." 
They  agreed  that  there  was  no  lack  of  suitable  candidates  and 
no  complaints  as  to  capacity,  but  there  was  widespread  discontent. 
Finally  the  committee  recommended  the  grading  of  the  service  as  a 
whole,  taking  into  consideration  the  differences  in  cost  of  living  as 

1  Parl.  Deb.,  4th  ser.,  viii,  col.  673;  xxix,  col.  117;  Ixxxii,  coll.  199  f.;  xciv,  coll. 
1357  f.;  cvi,  coll.  660-683,  715,  747;  cxxi,  coll.  1021-64;  cxlviii,  coll.  1367-69,  1382. 


84        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

between  London  and  other  cities  and  between  these  cities  and 
smaller  towns  and  an  increase  in  pay  of  the  man  at  an  age  to  marry, 
irrespective  of  years  of  service.  "They"  (the  above  recommenda- 
tions) "obviously  do  not  concede  all  that  has  been  asked  for,  but 
they  go  as  far  as  we  think  justifiable  in  meeting  the  demands  of  the 
staff  and  we  trust  it  will  do  much  to  promote  that  contentment 
which  is  so  essential  to  hearty  service."1  From  an  examination  of 
the  evidence  presented  by  the  Committee  and  a  comparison  of 
present  scales  of  pay  in  the  Post  Office  with  those  current  in  other 
employments,  the  Postmaster-General  concluded  that  there  was 
no  reason  for  increasing  the  maximum  wages  payable,  but  there 
seemed  to  be  ground  for  modifying  and  improving  the  scales  in 
some  respects.  The  special  increase  at  the  age  of  twenty-five  was 
granted.  The  maximum  was  increased  in  London  and  the  larger 
towns  on  account  of  the  higher  cost  of  living  and  at  the  same  time 
wages  in  the  smaller  towns  were  advanced.  The  postmen  also,  both 
in  London  and  the  provinces,  were  granted  higher  wages,  and  all 
payments  to  the  members  of  the  force  were  in  the  future  to  be 
made  weekly.  The  additional  cost  entailed  by  these  changes  was 
estimated  at  £224,400  for  1905-06,  the  average  in  later  years  at 
£372,300.2 

The  Post  Office  employees  who  had  asked  for  the  appointment 
of  a  select  committee  were  greatly  dissatisfied  with  the  personnel 
of  the  "Bradford  Committee."  This  dissatisfaction  on  their 
part  was  increased  by  the  fact  that  the  recommendations  of  the 
committee  were  to  a  great  extent  disregarded  by  Lord  Stanley 
on  the  ground  that  the  members  had  not  reported  upon  the  ques- 
tion laid  before  them,  but  had  instead  proposed  a  complete  reor- 
ganization of  the  whole  of  the  service.  He  was  willing  to  grant 
some  increase  in  pay  but  there  were  certain  recommendations  of 
the  committee  which  he  refused  to  accept.  He  himself  was  of  the 
opinion  that  the  average  wages  of  the  employees  were  in  excess  of 
those  of  men  doing  similar  work  under  competitive  conditions,  but 
the  postmen  objected  to  a  comparison  of  their  wages  with  those  of 
employees  in  the  open  labour  market  on  the  ground  "  that  there 

1  Rep.  Commrs.,  1904,  xxxiii,  171,  pp.  5-26. 

*  Ace.  6*  P.,  1905,  xliv,  98,  pp.  3-6;  Parl.  Deb.,  4th  ser.,  cxlviii,  col.  1363. 


AN  INSTRUMENT  OF  POPULAR  COMMUNICATION     85 

is  no  other  employer  who  fixes  his  own  prices  or  makes  an  annual 
profit  of  £4,000,000  sterling."  Delegates  representing  over  42,000 
members  of  various  postal  associations  protested  strongly  against 
Lord  Stanley's  refusal  to  adopt  the  findings  of  the  "Bradford  Com- 
mittee" in  toto  and  the  men  prepared  to  take  an  active  part  against 
the  Government  in  the  approaching  election.  Appeals  were  sent 
out  by  the  men  from  which  Lord  Stanley  quoted  as  follows  in  the 
House:  "Two  thirds  at  least  of  one  political  party  are  in  great 
fear  of  losing  their  seats.  The  swing  of  the  pendulum  is  against 
them  and  any  member  who  receives  forty  or  fifty  of  such  letters 
will  under  present  circumstances  have  to  consider  very  seriously 
whether  on  this  question  he  can  afford  to  go  into  the  wrong  lobby. 
This  is  taking  advantage  of  the  political  situation."1  The  Post- 
master-General's unpopularity  with  his  employees  was  not  dimin- 
ished by  his  reference  to  these  appeals  as  "nothing  more  or  less 
than  blackmail."  He  himself  was  of  the  opinion  that  there  should 
be  some  organization  outside  of  politics  to  which  such  questions 
should  be  referred.2 

Shortly  after  the  Liberals  had  come  into  power,  a  Post  Office 
circular  was  issued  granting  to  the  secretaries  of  the  branches  of 
the  various  postal  organizations  the  right  to  make  representations 
to  the  Postmaster-General  relating  to  the  service  and  affecting  the 
class  of  which  the  branch  of  an  association  was  representative.  In 
matters  solely  affecting  an  individual  the  appeal  had  to  come  from 
the  individual  himself.  This  was  followed  by  a  full  recognition  of 
the  postal  unions  by  the  new  Postmaster-General,  Mr.  Buxton,  with 
the  rights  of  combination  and  representation  through  the  repre- 
sentatives of  different  classes.  These  conclusions  were  commented 
upon  most  favourably  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  "Postmen's 
Federation." 3  The  representatives  present  were  glad  to  see  that 

1  In  connection  with  such  appeals  both  sides  of  the  House  as  represented  by  their 
leaders  had  in  1892  advised  that  members  should  pay  no  attention  to  them  (Part. 
Deb.,  4th  ser.,  v,  coll.  1123  f.). 

2  Parl.  Deb.,  4th  ser.,  cxxxix,  coll.  1633-34;  cxlviii,  coll.  1350,  1357-61,  1365;  the 
London  Times,  1904,  Oct.  n,  p.  4;  Oct.  18,  p.  4;  Oct.  22,  p.  10;  1905,  Jan.  16,  p.  7; 
Apr.  7,  p.  n. 

•  The  Postmen's  Federation  was  established  in  1891  and  a  journal,  the  Postman's 
Gazette,  representing  their  views,  was  started  in  the  following  year  (Postman's 
Gazette,  May  28,  1892;  Post  Office  Circular,  no.  1702). 


86        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

"  the  old  martinet  system  was  fast  breaking  down." 1  But  the  great- 
est triumph  of  the  men  was  to  follow  in  the  appointment  of  a  select 
committee  composed  of  members  of  the  House  of  Commons  with 
full  powers  to  investigate  the  conditions  of  employment  of  the 
postal  employees  and  make  such  recommendations,  based  upon 
their  investigation,  as  might  seem  suitable.  Nine  members  were  ap- 
pointed for  this  purpose,  two  of  their  number  being  members  of  the 
Labour  Party,  and  Mr.  Hobhouse  was  chosen  as  chairman.  Their 
report  is  very  voluminous  and  treats  minutely  all  the  questions 
concerning  which  the  postal  employees  had  expressed  so  much  dis- 
satisfaction. The  most  important  of  these  are  connected  with  the 
civil  rights  of  the  men,  their  wages,  hours  of  labour,  and  the  condi- 
tions of  their  employment.  The  demand  for  full  civil  rights  was 
supported  by  four  members  on  the  ground  that  the  position  of  the 
postal  employees  is  not  in  many  respects  "comparable  to  that  of 
the  Civil  Service  as  a  whole,"  but  the  point  was  lost  for  the  men  by 
the  vote  of  the  chairman.  Some  departments  asked  for  a  reduction 
in  the  age  of  voluntary  retirement  from  sixty  to  fifty  and  of  com- 
pulsory retirement  from  sixty-five  to  sixty,  but  these  changes  were 
not  recommended  by  the  committee.  The  question  of  extending 
part  of  their  pensions  to  the  widows  and  children  of  deceased  em- 
ployees was  referred  to  a  plebiscite  of  the  employees  themselves. 
So  far  as  incapacitated  officials  were  concerned,  it  was  pointed  out 
that  the  "Workmen's  Compensation  Act"  of  1906  had  been  ex- 
tended to  them.  Night  work  had  been  limited  to  the  time  from 
10  P.M.  to  6  A.M.,  seven  hours  of  night  work  counting  as  eight  hours 
of  day  work.  The  committee  asked  that  night  duty  be  from  8  P.M. 
to  6  A.M.,  the  ratio  of  the  relative  value  to  remain  unchanged. 
Some  servants  asked  for  a  forty-two  hour  week,  especially  in  the 
case  of  those  who  had  "split"  work  to  do,  and  for  a  half  holiday 
each  week.  The  committee  thought  that  the  forty-eight  hour  week 
should  remain  unchanged  but  that  a  half  holiday  might  be  granted 
where  "the  exigencies  of  the  service  demand."  They  also  recom- 
mended that  compensation  should  be  allowed  where  free  medical 
attendance  was  not  granted.  There  was  a  general  protest  from 

1  Parl.  Deb.,  4th  ser.,  cliv,  col.  202;  clix,  col.  396;  clxxiv,  col.  387;  the  London 
Times,  1906,  June  9,  p.  9. 


'AN  INSTRUMENT  OF  POPULAR  COMMUNICATION     87 

postmen,  telegraphists,  and  sorters  against  the  employment  of 
casual  and  auxiliary  labour  on  the  ground  that  it  dealt  a  blow  at 
thorough  work  and  trade  unionism.  The  Department  replied  that 
it  was  necessary  in  the  case  of  especially  busy  holiday  periods  and 
where  "split"  attendance  was  unavoidable.  The  committee  con- 
tented themselves  by  asking  that  casuals  who  have  full  work  else- 
where should  not  be  employed.  The  claim  on  the  part  of  the  em- 
ployees that  promotion  should  be  contingent  on  "seniority,  good 
conduct  and  ability,"  in  the  order  named  was  not  accepted  by  the 
committee)  whose  members  contended  that  ability,  as  at  present, 
should  count  for  most.  So  far  as  wages  themselves  were  concerned, 
a  general  increase  was  approved  by  the  committee,  and  it  also, 
commenting  unfavourably  on  the  complexity  and  number  of  exist- 
ing classes,  recommended  a  reduction  in  their  number  and  greater 
regularity  and  simplicity  in  grading  them.1 

The  recommendations  of  the  "Hobhouse  Committee"  have 
proved,  in  many  respects,  unsatisfactory  to  the  postal  employees 
who  have  not  hesitated  to  express  their  condemnation  of  what  they 
consider  the  sins  both  of  commission  and  omission  of  the  members. 
In  the  words  of  the  delegates  from  the  branches  of  the  "Postmen's 
Federation"  meeting  in  London:  "We  express  our  deep  disap- 
pointment with  the  report  of  the  Select  Committee  for  the  follow- 
ing reasons":  the  "cowardice"  of  the  committee  in  recommend- 
ing the  continuance  of  the  system  of  Christmas  boxes;  the  failure 
in  many  cases  to  increase  the  minimum  and  maximum  rates  of 
wages;  the  mistaken  method  of  grading  towns  for  wages;  the  fail- 
ure to  grant  full  civil  rights  and  the  granting  of  so  much  power  to 
the  permanent  officials.  The  Conference  of  Postal  Clerks  in  turn 
expressed  their  dissatisfaction  with  the  findings  of  the  committee. 
The  "Irish  Postal  and  Telegraph  Guardian"  considered  that  the 
"report  had  intensified  discontent"  and  commented  on  the  fact 
that  large  increases  in  salaries  to  highly  paid  classes  had  been  re- 
commended without  any  agitation  on  their  part  while  the  lower 
grades  got  practically  nothing,  this  in  direct  opposition  to  opinions 
expressed  both  by  Mr.  Buxton  and  Mr.  Ward,  a  member  of  the 
committee.  Deputations  were  appointed  to  discuss  with  the  Post- 
1  Parl.  Deb.,  4th  ser.,  cliii,  coll.  323-38,  354-58;  Rep.  Com.,  1907,  266. 


88        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

master-General  those  findings  of  the  committee  which  were  un- 
satisfactory, but  Mr.  Buxton  refused  to  grant  a  re-trial  of  the  con- 
troverted points  although  he  agreed  to  listen  to  the  plea  of  those 
employees  whose  case  had  not  been  presented  before  the  com- 
mittee.1 

I  Mr.  Buxton  explained  his  position  with  reference  to  the  recom- 
mendations of  the  committee  in  a  speech  delivered  in  the  House. 
He  knew  that  in  the  case  of  the  Tweedmouth  and  Bradford  com- 
mittees the  men  stated  beforehand  that  they  would  not  be  bound 
by  the  decisions  reached,  but  on  the  other  hand  had  asked  for 
a  Parliamentary  committee  as  the  only  solution  of  the  difficulty. 
Broadly  speaking,  he  was  of  the  opinion  that  the  findings  of  the 
committee  should  be  binding,  and  he  understood  that  the  men 
would  agree  to  accept  them.  There  were,  however,  certain  points 
of  the  report  on  which  nearly  every  section  of  the  staff  asked  for  a 
re-trial,  but  this  he  was  compelled  to  refuse.  The  most  important 
recommendations  of  the  committee  which  were  adopted  by  Mr. 
Buxton  are:  an  increase  in  the  case  of  each  employee  to^the  min- 
imum or  "age  pay  "of  his  class;  the  extension  of  the  "  technical 
increment"  beyond  the  ordinary  maximum  pay,  after  a  searching 
examination;  the  reduction  in  London  of  the  four  "wage"  zones  to 
three;  a  reduction  in  the  number  of  classes  in  the  provinces,  with 
wages  based  on  volume  of  work  and  cost  of  living  in  the  order 
named ;  a  reduction  after  the  first  five  years  from  five  to  four  years 
in  the  period  necessary  to  obtain  good  conduct  stripes;  an  increase 
in  the  pay  of  women;  a  reduction  in  the  amount  of  auxiliary  labour 
employed;  night  labour  to  be  reckoned  from  8  instead  of  10  P.M.; 
overtime  to  be  watched  and  checked;  unsanitary  conditions  in  the 
Post  Office  buildings  to  be  remedied;  and  wages  increased  in  the 
engineering  branch.2 

1  Par/.  Deb.,  4th  ser.,  clxxxiv,  coll.  1058-59,  1061-66,  1080;  cxcii,  coll.  1175, 1173; 
the  London  Times,  1907,  Aug.  19,  p.  17;  Aug.  20,  p.  2;  Oct.  16,  p.  12. 

2  Par/.  Deb.,  4th  ser.,  clxxxiv,  coll.  1058-70;  cxcii,  coll.  1120-21.    It  has  been  esti- 
mated that  the  recommendations  adopted  by  the  Postmaster-General  will  entail 
upon  the  country  an  additional  cost  of  about  £600,000,  rising  to  £1,000,000  (Par/. 
Deb.,  4th  ser.,  cxcii,  col.  1156).^ 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  TRAVELLERS'  POST  AND  POST  HORSES 

THE  duty  of  providing  horses  for  conveying  letters  and  for  the 
use  of  travellers  on  affairs  of  state  was  enforced  from  the  beginning 
of  the  sixteenth  century  by  orders  and  warrants  issued  by  the 
Postmaster- General  and  the  Privy  Council  to  mayors,  sheriffs,  con- 
stables, and  other  officials.1  Where  ordinary  posts  were  laid,  the 
postmen  themselves  were  supposed  to  have  horses  ready.  Such  at 
least  was  the  understanding,  not,  however,  invariably  realized.  In 
1533  we  find  the  Postmaster-General  complaining  that,  except  be- 
tween London  and  Dover,  there  were  never  any  horses  provided 
over  the  whole  kingdom.2  A  few  years  later  when  the  London- 
Berwick  posts  became  an  established  fact  each  postman  had  to 
provide  one  horse,  always  to  be  ready  to  carry  either  the  mails  or  a 
chance  traveller  on  affairs  of  state.  In  1542,  since,  owing  to  trouble 
with  Scotland,  the  number  of  letters  and  travellers  between  that 
country  and  London  had  become  much  more  numerous,  each  post- 
man was  required  to  have  in  readiness  three  horses  instead  of  one, 
and  it  was  partly  for  this  reason  that  their  pay  was  increased  at  the 
same  time.3  The  fee  for  the  use  of  these  horses  was  fixed  at  a  penny 
a  horse  for  every  mile  travelled.  Generally  this  fee  was  named  in 
the  warrant  empowering  the  traveller  to  take  up  horses.4  When 
the  sum  was  not  definitely  named,  it  was  required  that  it  should  be 
reasonable.5  It  seems  to  have  been  the  custom  of  the  members  of 
the  Council  to  grant  these  warrants  quite  indiscriminately.  To 
remedy  this,  it  was  provided  in  1566  that  in  future  no  warrant 
should  be  granted  to  any  person,  who  was  not  actually  travelling 
upon  state  affairs.6  Twelve  years  later  we  find  the  people  of 

1  Hist.  MSS.  Com.  Rep.,  14,  app.,  pt.  8,  p.  35;  P.  fir  0.  P.  C.,  vii,  p.  350. 

2  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  xiv,  app.,  p.  32  (7). 

1  L.  &•  P.  Hen.  VIII,  xvii  (1542),  p.  484. 

4  A.  P.  C.,  1542-47,  PP-  164,  333,  465,  469,  527;  1547-50*  P-  505- 

•  Ibid.,  1550-52,  p.  452;  1542-47,  P-  384.  fl  Ibid.,  1558-70,  p.  326. 


QO   THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

Grantham  petitioning  the  Council  against  the  taking-up  of  horses 
to  ride  post.  They  said  that  the  practice  had  increased  so  much 
that  it  had  become  intolerable.1  The  demand  for  horses  had  be- 
come so  great  that  2d.  a  mile  was  asked  for  each  horse  and  com- 
plaint was  made  that  travellers  and  messengers  refused  to  pay  the 
increased  charge.2  It  is  improbable  that  the  state  was  successful  in 
preventing  the  use  of  the  postmasters'  horses  by  private  individuals, 
and  it  is  more  improbable  still  that  the  postmasters  themselves 
objected  to  hiring  their  horses  to  those  who  travelled  on  their  own 
affairs.  Warrants  issued  by  the  Council  nearly  always  fixed  the 
price  which  should  be  paid.  Now  such  prices,  like  wages  when 
fixed  by  employers,  are  likely  to  be  lower  than  demand  and  supply 
warrant.  On  the  other  hand,  as  between  the  postmasters  and  the 
ordinary  travellers,  the  question  of  charge  was  adjusted  by  agree- 
ment. 

When  the  postmasters  themselves  were  too  poor  to  obtain  horses 
at  their  own  expense,  they  were  sometimes  aided  by  the  town  or 
county.  In  Norfolk,  for  instance,  each  one  of  three  postmasters 
was  provided  with  a  certain  sum  out  of  the  treasury  of  the  city  of 
Norwich  to  be  lent  without  interest.  They  were  also  paid  so  much 
a  year  out  of  money  levied  on  the  people  of  Norwich,  one  half  on 
the  innkeepers  and  tipplers  and  one  half  on  the  other  inhabitants. 
No  man  was  to  take  up  post  horses  in  Norwich  unless  licensed  by 
warrants  from  the  Queen,  the  Council,  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  or 
the  Mayor  of  Norwich.  No  one  was  to  ride  a  horse  farther  than 
twelve  or  fourteen  miles  at  a  stretch,  and  he  was  to  pay  2d.  each 
mile  and  6d.  to  his  guide  to  lead  back  the  horses.  No  horse  was  to 
carry  any  cloak  bag  over  ten  pounds  in  weight.3 

If  more  horses  were  demanded  from  the  postmaster  than  he  him- 
self had  in  his  stable,  he  might  seize  them  from  his  neighbours  but 
the  full  amount  paid  was  to  go  to  the  owners.  The  date  of  the  com- 
mission empowering  horses  to  be  used,  the  name  of  the  person  using 
them,  and  the  date  when  the  horses  were  demanded  were  to  be 
entered  in  a  book,  kept  for  the  purpose.4 

Complaints  from  the  postmasters  concerning  the  abuses  of 

1  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1547-80,  p.  612.  »  Ibid.,  1547-80,  p.  362. 

1  F.  Blomefield,  Norfolk,  1806,  iii,  p.  294.         «  A.  P.  C.,  1571-75,  P- 181. 


THE  TRAVELLERS'  POST  AND  POST  HORSES    gi 

travellers  were  frequent.  The  London-Berwick  posts  in  a  petition 
to  the  Council  stated  that  on  account  of  the  great  number  riding 
over  that  road  many  of  their  horses  were  injured  or  spoiled  and  were 
not  paid  for,  while  the  constables,  whose  duty  it  was  to  see  that 
horses  were  provided,  were  often  ill-treated.  Accordingly  by  a  pro- 
clamation issued  in  1578,  it  was  provided  that  no  commission  to 
ride  in  post  should  be  issued  unless  it  was  first  moved  at  a  council 
meeting  or  ordered  by  the  Secretary  for  causes  properly  relating  to 
Her  Majesty's  service.1  This  was  followed  in  1582  by  a  still  more 
stringent  proclamation,  forbidding  any  person  to  use  a  commission 
more  than  once  unless  otherwise  specified.  The  pay  of  id.  a  mile 
for  each  horse  was  to  be  in  advance  as  was  also  the  " guide's  groat" 
and,  if  the  payment  was  not  so  advanced,  the  postmaster  might 
refuse  to  supply  horses.2  Occasionally  we  find  people  objecting  to 
having  their  horses  taken  when  the  postmaster  had  not  sufficient 
of  his  own.  Complaints  like  these  were  generally  followed  by  an 
order  to  the  offending  postmaster  to  provide  himself  with  more 
horses.3 

The  travellers,  however,  were  not  the  only  people  who  were  at 
fault.  The  owners  of  the  horses  were  often  offenders  and  can  hardly 
be  blamed  for  rendering  as  difficult  as  possible  the  enforcement  of 
the  obnoxious  proclamations,  which  they  were  ordered  to  obey.  If 
they  had  to  supply  horses,  they  must  do  so,  but  there  was  nothing 
to  prevent  them  from  offering  clumsy  plough  horses  or  venerable 
specimens  no  longer  capable  of  drawing  a  plough.  The  constables 
were  more  apt  to  sympathize  with  the  owners,  who  were  their 
neighbours,  than  with  the  travellers.  Consequently  it  is  not  sur- 
prising that  complaints  were  loud  and  deep  over  the  pieces  of 
horseflesh,  whose  angular  outlines  must  have  presented  a  sorry  seat 
for  the  Queen's  messengers.4 

By  a  Privy  Council  proclamation  issued  in  1603,  all  posts  receiv- 

1  A .  'P.  C.,  1577-78,  p.  219.  A  particularly  violent  man  roused  the  ire  of  the  Mayor 
of  Guildford,  who  wrote  to  Walsingham  asking  for  damages  to  a  gelding  killed  by  a 
Mr.  Wynckfeld,  riding  post  from  Guildford  to  Kingston.  The  gelding  stumbled  and 
fell  on  the  road  and  Wynckfeld  thrust  his  dagger  into  him,  beat  the  guide  and  threat- 
ened to  kill  the  constables  on  his  return  (Col.  S.  P.  D.,  ii,  p.  529). 

2  A.  P.  C.,  1577-78,  p.  219.  »  Ibid.,  1588-89,  p.  206. 
*  Ibid.,  1577-78,  p.  62;  1580-81,  p.  203. 


92         THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

ing  a  daily  fee  were  required  to  keep  at  least  two  horses  apiece.  So 
far  as  the  letting  of  horses  was  concerned,  they  had  up  to  this  time 
been  subject  to  competition  from  other  people,  who  had  horses  to 
hire.  They  were  now  granted  the  prior  right  to  provide  horses  for 
travellers  and  it  was  only  in  case  of  their  supply  being  inadequate 
that  horses  might  be  procured  elsewhere.  The  hire  as  usual  was  to 
be  paid  in  advance  and  was  fixed  at  2%d.  a  mile,  together  with  the 
guide's  fee  for  those  riding  on  commission  and  was  to  be  settled  by 
agreement  for  all  others.  No  heavier  burden  than  thirty  pounds  in 
excess  of  the  rider's  weight  was  to  be  carried  by  each  horse.1 

It  is  in  connection  with  the  monopolistic  restriction  of  1603  that 
Macaulay  says  that  the  state  must  have  reaped  a  large  reward  from 
the  prior  right  of  the  postmasters  to  hire  horses  to  travellers.2  Mr. 
Joyce  has  pointed  out  that  the  proceeds  went  to  the  postmasters 
and  not  to  the  state,  but  he  has  given  no  good  reason  for  dissenting 
from  Macaulay's  opinion.  Without  doubt  Joyce  is  correct,  as  is 
shown  by  a  complaint  from  the  postmasters  on  the  Western  Road 
that  they  had  been  injured  by  an  interloper  who  supplied  travel- 
lers with  horses.3  In  1779,  the  state  made  an  attempt  to  obtain 
something  from  the  postmasters  by  requiring  them  to  take  out  a 
licence  for  the  hiring  of  horses  and  to  pay  a  percentage  for  their 
receipts  to  the  government.4  Indirectly,  however,  the  state  did 
reap  some  benefit  from  the  revenue  from  post  horses,  for  if  the 
postmasters  had  received  nothing  from  their  horses  or  from  the 
conveyance  of  private  letters,  it  would  have  been  necessary  to  pay 
their  salaries  much  more  promptly  than  was  the  custom.  As  early 
as  the  latter  part  of  the  sixteenth  century,  we  find  complaints  from 
the  London-Dover  posts  that  they  had  received  nothing  on  their 
salaries  for  a  whole  year.5  This  was  nothing  to  later  complaints  and 
proves  that  an  impecunious  government  was  enabled  to  act  the  bad 
debtor  by  the  fact  that  other  forms  of  revenue  were  available  for 
the  postmasters. 

In  1609  the  rate  for  each  horse  was  raised  from  2  j£ d.  to  3^.  a  mile, 
and  an  attempt  was  made  to  enforce  the  postmasters'  monopoly 

1  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  xiv,  app.,  pp.  38,  39,  40  (18). 

8  Macaulay,  Hist,  of  England,  1849,  i>  P-  387.    8  Cat.  S.  P.  D.,  1629-31,  p.  193. 

*  19  Geo.  Ill,  c.  51.  B  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1581-90,  p.  131. 


THE  TRAVELLERS'  POST  AND  POST  HORSES    93 

more  strictly.1  No  horse  was  to  be  ridden  beyond  the  initial  stage 
unless  with  the  consent  of  the  postmaster  concerned.  The  postmas- 
ters complained  that  they  were  held  responsible  for  supplying 
horses,  and  yet,  when  it  was  necessary  to  obtain  them  from  the 
surrounding  country,  they  were  resisted  by  the  owners  or  were  sup- 
plied with  inefficient  animals.2  The  complaints  of  the  public  were 
more  to  the  purpose.  According  to  them  there  were  some  who  were 
being  called  upon  constantly  for  horses  while  others  escaped  all 
demands.  The  postmasters  often  accepted  bribes  from  owners  of 
horses  on  condition  that  they  should  not  be  troubled.3  At  times 
the  horses,  after  being  seized,  were  not  used  but  were  kept  in  the 
stables  of  the  postmasters,  and  their  owners  charged  the  expense  of 
maintaining  them. 

At  the  establishment  of  Witherings'  plan  in  1635,  the  postmas- 
ters on  all  the  roads  in  England  were  required  to  have  as  many 
horses  ready  as  were  necessary  for  the  carriage  of  letters  and  the 
accommodation  of  travellers.  The  rate  for  each  horse  was  lowered 
from  3 d.  to  2  J^d.  or  $d.  for  two  horses  and  a  guide.4  Before  1635, 
the  post  enjoyed  no  priority  over  the  traveller  in  being  provided 
with  horses,  and  if  all  the  horses  happened  to  be  in  use  when  the 
mail  arrived,  it  had  to  wait.  Now  it  was  provided  that  on  the  day 
when  the  mail  was  expected,  enough  horses  should  be  kept  in  the 
stable  to  ensure  its  prompt  transmission.5  In  1637,  after  Wither- 
ings'  dismissal,  the  fee  for  the  hire  of  a  horse  was  raised  again  to  $d. 
at  which  rate  it  continued  until  1657,  when  it  was  lowered  to  2^4 d. 
by  the  Commonwealth  Government.  So  much  trouble  had  been 
caused  by  the  seizure  of  horses  from  owners  unwilling  to  part  with 
them  that  it  was  provided  by  the  act  of  1657  that  no  one  might 
take  or  seize  horses  for  service  without  the  consent  of  the  owner, 
but  no  one  save  the  Postmaster-General  and  his  deputies  might 
hire  horses  to  persons  riding  in  post  with  or  without  commission.6 
At  the  Restoration  in  1660,  the  old  rate  of  $d.  a  mile  for  each  horse 
was  re-imposed  together  with  a  qd.  fee  to  the  guide  for  each  stage. 

1  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  xiv,  app.,  p.  42  (20).     2  Cat.  S.  P.  D.,  1619-23,  p.  517. 
»  Ibid.,  1619-23,  p.  86;  1635,  p.  18;  1631-33,  p.  257.    4  Ibid.,  1635,  p.  299. 
6  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  xiv,  app.,  p.  57  (36);  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1637,  p.  338- 
*  Scobell,  Collect.,  1656,  c.  30. 


94    THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

If  the  postmaster  was  unable  to  furnish  horses  within  half  an  hour, 
they  might  be  obtained  elsewhere,  but  always  with  the  consent  of 
the  owner.1 

The  sole  right  to  supply  horses  was  continued  to  the  Postmasters- 
General  and  their  deputies  by  the  famous  act  of  1711.  The  rate  per 
horse  and  the  guide's  fee  remained  at  the  figure  imposed  by  the  act 
of  1660.  If  the  postmaster  did  not  supply  the  horses  demanded 
within  half  an  hour,  he  was  liable  to  a  fine  of  £5  and  the  horses 
might  be  obtained  from  any  one  who  would  consent  to  hire  them. 
The  maximum  burden  for  one  horse  over  and  above  the  rider's 
weight  was  eighty  pounds.2 

The  postmasters  enjoyed  the  monopoly  of  letting  horses  to 
travellers  until  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.  But  the  in- 
dustrial growth  of  England  and  the  improvement  in  the  roads  had 
produced  such  an  increase  in  the  number  of  travellers  that  the  post- 
masters were  unable  to  supply  the  demand.  The  use  of  carriages 
had  become  more  common,  enabling  people  to  travel  who  could 
not  proceed  on  horseback,  and  this  had  still  further  increased  the 
demand  for  horses.  It  was  plain  that  something  must  be  done  and 
some  more  extensive  source  of  supply  drawn  upon  than  that  fur- 
nished under  the  old  system.  The  postmen  had  heard  some  of  the 
rumours  in  the  air  that  a  change  was  about  to  be  made,  and  they 
forwarded  a  petition  to  the  House  of  Commons,  protesting  against 
the  contemplated  change  as  an  infringement  upon  their  old  mono- 
poly. They  said  "  that  if  the  amendment  should  pass  into  a  law  as 
it  is  now  drawn,  it  would  not  only  tend  to  the  great  damage  and 
loss  of  the  petitioners,  but  also  the  prejudice  of  His  Majesty's  reve- 
nue." 3  The  amendment  did  pass,  however,  declaring  that  in  future 
any  one  might  furnish  chaises  and  calashes  with  horses  and  that 
people  letting  chaises  might  supply  horses  for  them  at  the  same  time.4 

In  1779,  when  the  Treasury  was  sadly  in  need  of  money,  an  act 
was  passed,  requiring  all  persons  letting  horses  to  take  out  licences. 
In  addition,  duties  were  levied  on  all  horses  and  carriages  hired  for 
the  purpose  of  travelling  post.5  In  the  following  year  this  act  was 

1  12  Ch.  II,  c.  35.  2  9  Anne,  c.  n. 

8  Jo.  H.  C.,  1745-50,  p.  830.  4  22  Geo.  II,  c.  25. 

6  19  Geo.  Ill,  c.  51. 


THE  TRAVELLERS'  POST  AND  POST  HORSES    95 

superseded  by  a  stricter  and  more  comprehensive  one.  It  was  pro- 
vided by  the  new  act  that  every  person  letting  horses  to  travel 
should  pay  five  shillings  a  year  for  a  licence.  In  addition  one  penny 
a  mile  should  be  paid  for  every  horse,  or,  if  the  distance  was  not 
known,  is.  6d.  a  day,  such  duties  to  be  paid  by  the  person  hiring 
the  horses  to  the  postmaster  or  other  person  who  provided  them,  to 
be  by  him  handed  over  to  the  Treasury.  At  the  time  of  payment 
the  postmaster  was  to  give  the  traveller  a  ticket,  which  must  be 
shown  to  the  toll  keepers  on  the  road.  If  he  had  no  ticket  to  show, 
the  toll  keeper  was  ordered  not  to  allow  him  to  pass.1  Five  years 
later  the  duty  to  be  collected  was  raised  to  i  }4  d.  a  mile  for  each  horse 
or  15.  gd.  a  day.2  In  1787,  permission  was  given  to  let  these  duties 
out  to  farm,  because  so  many  difficulties  had  been  experienced  in 
their  collection.3  The  whole  theory  of  these  duties  was  illogical,  for 
it  was  to  every  one's  interest  to  evade  them,  and  direct  supervision 
was  impossible.  In  1808  another  act  for  farming  the  post-horse 
duties  was  passed,  modifying  somewhat  the  provisions  of  the  previ- 
ous act.  The  tax  was  to  extend  to  horses  used  in  travelling,  when 
hired  by  the  mile  or  stage  and  when  hired  for  a  period  of  time  less 
than  twenty-eight  days  for  drawing  carriages  used  in  travelling 
post.  Persons  licenced  to  let  horses  were  required  to  have  their 
names  and  places  of  abode  painted  on  their  post  carriages  if  they 
provided  these  also.  The  carriages  must  have  numbers  painted  on 
them  so  as  to  distinguish  them  easily.4  In  1823  all  previous  acts 
relating  to  licences  and  fees  for  keeping  horses  for  hire  were  repealed, 
and  a  complete  system  of  rates  was  substituted.  Every  postmaster 
or  other  person  keeping  horses  to  hire  for  riding  by  post  must  pay 
an  annual  licence  of  five  shillings  and  additional  duties  calculated 
according  to  distance  or  time.  The  Treasury  was  given  authority 
to  let  these  duties  to  farm.5 

1  20  Geo.  Ill,  c.  51.  »  25  Geo.  Ill,  c.  51. 

1  27  Geo.  Ill,  c.  26.  «  48  Geo.  Ill,  c.  98. 

8  4  Geo.  IV,  c.  62:  — 

For  every  horse  let  to  hire  by  the  mile  at  the  ordinary  rate,  i  %d. 
For  no  greater  distance  than  eight  miles,  one  fifth  part  of  the  sum  charged  or 
15.  gd. 

For  no  greater  distance  than  eight  miles  and  when  the  horse  or  horses  shall  not 
bring  back  any  person  nor  deviate  from  the  regular  road,  u. 


96        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

For  every  horse  let  for  a  period  less  than  twenty-eight  successive  days  and  not  let 
according  to  the  terms  given  above,  one  fifth  part  of  the  sum  charged  or  25.  6d.  for 
each  day  not  exceeding  three  days  and  is.  gd.  for  each  day  exceeding  three  days  but 
not  exceeding  thirteen  days  and  is.  2>d.  for  each  day  exceeding  thirteen  but  not  ex- 
ceeding twenty-eight  days. 

For  every  horse  let  for  twenty-eight  successive  days  or  for  a  longer  period,  one 
fifth  of  the  sum  charged  or  25.  6d.  for  each  day  not  exceeding  three  and  is.  gd.  for 
each  day  exceeding  three  days  but  not  exceeding  thirteen  days  and  w.  $d.  for  each 
day  exceeding  thirteen  and  less  than  twenty-one  days. 


CHAPTER  VI 

ROADS  AND  SPEED 

SIR  BRIAN  TUKE,  writing  in  1533,  said  that  the  only  roads  in  the 
kingdom  over  which  letters  were  regularly  conveyed  were  from 
London  to  Dover  and  London  to  Berwick.1  The  road  to  Berwick 
had  been  in  use  in  1509 2  but  had  evidently  been  discontinued,  for 
Sir  Brian  says  in  his  letter  that  postmen  were  appointed  to  it  in 
the  year  that  he  wrote.  Regular  posts  were  established  between 
London  and  Portsmouth  when  the  fleet  was  there  and  discontinued 
as  soon  as  it  left,  so  that  it  can  hardly  be  included  among  the  regu- 
lar roads.3  Between  1580  and  the  accession  of  James  I,  there  was  a 
distinct  revival  in  postal  affairs  within  and  without  the  kingdom. 
The  posts  on  the  London-Holyhead  road  had  been  discharged  for 
some  time  and  Irish  letters  were  conveyed  to  London  by  the  post- 
master at  Chester.4  In  1581  Gascoyne,  the  acting  Postmaster- Gen- 
eral, was  ordered  to  appoint  stages  and  postmen  on  this  old  route.5 
A  letter  patent  was  issued,  calling  upon  all  Her  Majesty's  officers 
to  assist  him  in  so  doing,  and  a  warrant  was  signed  for  the  payment 
of  £20  to  defray  his  expenses.  The  Rye-Dieppe  posts  were  also 
reorganized,  principally  for  the  conveyance  of  letters  to  and  from 
France.6  Bristol  ranked  next  to  London  in  size  and  importance, 
but  it  was  not  until  1580  that  orders  were  given  to  horse  and  man 
the  road  between  the  two  cities,7  and  only  in  the  following  decade 
were  posts  also  laid  from  London  to  Exeter  and  somewhat  later 
from  Exeter  to  Plymouth.8  This  illustrates  as  well  as  anything  the 
fact  that  the  early  English  postal  system  was  mainly  political  in 

1  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  xiv,  app.,  p.  32  (7).    *  L.  &•  P.  Hen.  VIII,  vii,  pt.  2,  p.  1444. 
A.  P.  C.,  1556-58,  pp.  249-309. 
Ibid.,  1571,  75,  p.  201;  Col.  S.  P.  D.,  i547~8o,  p.  265. 
Col.  S.  P.  Ire.,  1574-85,  p.  176;  A.  P.  C.,  1580-81,  p.  131. 
Hist.  MSS.  Com.,  Rep.,  13,  app.,  pt.  4,  p.  89. 
A.  P.  C.,  1580-81,  p.  211. 
Col.  S.  P.  D.,  1581-90,  p.  712;  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  xiv,  app.,  p.  43  (21). 


98        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

its  aims.  The  great  post  roads  were  important  from  a  political 
rather  than  an  economic  standpoint.  It  was  necessary  to  keep  in 
close  touch  with  Scotland  because  the  Scotch  would  always  stand 
watching.  The  wild  Irish  needed  a  strong  hand  and  it  was  expedi- 
ent that  English  statesmen  should  be  well  acquainted  with  things 
Irish.  The  post  to  and  from  the  continent  was  quite  as  necessary 
to  keep  them  informed  of  French  and  Spanish  politics. 

In  conveying  letters  the  postman  who  started  with  them  did  not, 
on  the  regular  roads,  proceed  through  to  the  place  where  they  were 
directed,  but  carried  them  only  over  his  stage  to  the  next  postman. 
By  this  method  a  fair  rate  of  speed  should  have  been  maintained, 
for  the  horses'  path  in  the  middle  of  the  road  was  as  a  rule  not 
so  bad  as  seriously  to  impede  travelling.1  Nevertheless  complaints 
about  the  tardiness  of  the  post  are  numerous.  Lisle,  the  Warden  of 
the  Marches,  said  that  letters  from  London  were  nearly  five  days 
in  reaching  him  at  Alnwick.2  Nine  days  from  London  to  Carlisle 
was  considered  too  slow  but  it  often  took  that  long,  notwithstand- 
ing that  the  letters  were  marked  twice  "  for  life,  for  life." 3  The  Earl 
of  Sussex  complained  to  Cecil  that  they  never  arrived  in  York 
under  three  days.  He  expected  too  much,  however,  for  three  days 
from  London  to  York  was  considered  good  speed.4  According  to  a 
post  label  made  out  in  1589,  the  distance  from  Berwick  to  Hunting- 
don was  accomplished  in  ninety-one  hours.  By  the  mileage  tables 
then  published,  the  distance  was  203  miles,  giving  an  average  speed 
of  only  a  little  over  two  miles  an  hour.  It  is  only  fair  to  add  that 
the  real  distance  was  282  miles,  and  this  would  raise  the  speed  to 
about  three  miles  an  hour.5  The  distance  from  Dover  to  London 
was  covered  in  twelve  hours,  from  Plymouth  to  Hartford  Bridge 
in  forty-four  hours,  from  Portsmouth  to  Farnham  in  five  hours, 
from  Weymouth  to  Staines  via  Sherborne  in  five  days,  but  this 
must  have  been  exceptionally  long.6 

Orders  were  given  to  the  postmen  in  1603  that  they  should  not 
delay  the  mails  more  than  fifteen  minutes  at  each  stage  and  that 

1  Hist.  MSS.  Com.,  Rep.,  14,  app.,  pt.  8,  p.  35. 

2  L.  &•  P.  Hen.  VIII,  1543,  p.  4-  8  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1547-65,  P-  360. 
4  Ibid.,  1566-79,  p.  109.  B  Ibid.,  1580-1625,  p.  278. 

6  Hist.  MSS.  Com.,  Hatfield  House,  pt.  7,  pp.  174, 168,  332,  358.  t 


'ROADS  AND  SPEED  99 

they  should  travel  at  the  rate  of  seven  miles  an  hour  in  summer  and 
five  in  winter.1  This  was  an  ideal  but  seldom  realized.  Complaints 
continued  to  come  in  pretty  constantly  during  the  first  thirty-five 
years  of  the  seventeenth  century.2  Secretary  Conway  wrote  to 
Secretary  Coke  that  the  posts  must  be  punished  for  their  tardi- 
ness.3 Even  those  from  London  to  Dover  were  reprimanded  and 
they  had  hitherto  given  the  best  satisfaction.  The  postmaster  at 
Dover  was  threatened  with  imprisonment  unless  he  mended  his 
ways.4  Letters  were  either  not  delivered  at  all  or  were  needlessly 
delayed  on  the  road.  Some  of  the  postmasters,  who  held  lucrative 
positions,  were  themselves  absentees  and  their  work  was  performed 
by  their  agents,  who  were  often  incompetent,  and  this  sort  of  thing 
was  connived  at  by  the  Postmaster-General,  from  whom  their  posi- 
tions were  bought.  The  postmen  themselves  acknowledged  their 
tardiness  but  said  that  they  were  able  to  do  no  better,  since  they 
had  received  no  wages  for  several  years.5  One  had  been  paid 
nothing  for  over  two  years,6  another  had  received  no  wages  for 
seven  years,6  and  finally  in  1628  a  petition  was  presented  to  the 
Privy  Council  from  "  all  the  posts  in  England,  being  in  number 
ninety-nine  poor  men."  This  petition  prays  for  their  arrears,  due 
since  1621,  the  amount  unpaid  being  £22,626,  "notwithstanding 
the  great  charge  they  are  at  in  the  keeping  of  many  servants  and 
horses  to  do  His  Majesty's  service." 7  The  Council  did  not  grant 
their  petition,  for  two  years  later  £25,000  were  still  due  them.8 

The  Council  of  State  gave  directions  in  1652  for  roads  to  be 
manned  between  Dover  and  Portsmouth,  Portsmouth  and  Salis- 
bury, London  and  Yarmouth,  and  London  and  Carlisle  through 
Lancaster.9  Hitherto,  Carlisle  had  to  depend  upon  a  branch  post 
from  the  great  North  Road.  Dover  and  Portsmouth  had  no  direct 

1  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  xiv,  app.,  pp.  38-40  (28). 

2  Six  days  from  London  to  Holyrood  House  (Cat.  S.  P.  D.,  1611-18,  p.  44).  Five 
hours  from  Sittingbourne  to  Canterbury  (12  miles)    (ibid.,  1619-23,  p.  610).    Nine 
hours  from  Sittingbourne  to  Dover  (ibid.,  1625-26,  p.  256). 

Col.  S.  P.  D.,  1619-23,  p.  564.  .*  Ibid.,  1625-26,  pp.  43, 168. 

Ibid.,  1627-28,  p.  307. 

Ibid.,  1623-25,  p.  141;  1627-28,  p.  307. 

Ibid.,  1628-29,  p.  184.  8  Ibid.,  1629-31,  p.  379. 

Ibid.,  1652-53,  p.  312. 


100      THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

connection  nor  had  Bristol  and  Exeter,  but  letters  between  these 
places  passed  through  London.  These  orders  formed  part  of  the 
directions  given  to  the  farmer  of  the  posts  in  the  following  year.1 
Cromwell  seems  to  have  recognized  the  impracticability  of  en- 
forcing the  speed  limit  ordered  by  Elizabeth  in  the  case  of  the  ordi- 
nary mails.  He  issued  orders  that  in  future  only  public  despatches 
or  letters  from  and  to  certain  high  officials  should  be  sent  by  ex- 
press, and  such  despatches  and  letters  must  be  carried  at  a  speed 
of  seven  miles  an  hour  from  the  first  of  April  to  the  thirtieth  of 
September,  and  five  miles  an  hour  the  rest  of  the  year.2 

Toward  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century,  more  attention 
was  directed  to  the  slowness  of  the  posts  and  the  delays  along  the 
road.  The  average  speed  on  the  great  roads  varied  from  three  to 
four  miles  an  hour,  anything  below  three  miles  generally  calling 
for  reproof.  For  instance,  the  posts  on  the  Portsmouth  road  were 
reprimanded  for  travelling  only  twenty- two  miles  in  ten  hours.3  It 
was  said  that  it  took  the  Yarmouth  mail  sixty-six  hours  to  travel 
less  than  one  hundred  miles.  The  post  labels  were  an  important 
check  upon  the  postmaster's  carelessness.  Each  postmaster  was 
supposed  to  mark  the  time  that  he  received  the  mail  on  a  label  at- 
tached to  it  for  that  purpose.  In  this  way  no  postmaster  marked  the 
speed  that  his  own  postboy  made  and  each  was  a  check  upon  his 
neighbour.4  Lord  Arlington  gave  orders  in  1666  for  this  practice  to 
be  enforced  more  strictly.  In  addition  to  marking  the  time  of  ar- 
rival, the  time  of  departure  was  also  to  be  added.5  A  year  later  a 
further  improvement  was  made  by  the  use  of  printed  labels,  con- 
taining also  directions  as  to  speed.  The  names  of  the  post  towns 
through  which  the  mail  must  pass  were  also  added,  and  blanks  were 
left  for  the  postmasters  to  fill  in  the  hours  of  arrival  and  depart- 
ure.6 

It  was  often  difficult  to  tell  the  relative  position  of  places  in  Eng- 

Cal  S.  P.  D.,  1652-53,  p.  449. 
Ibid.,  1655,  pp.  285-86. 
Ibid.,  1661-62,  p.  385. 
Ibid.,  1665-66,  p.  19. 
Ibid.,  1666-67,  P-  384. 

Ibid.,  1667-68,  p.  116.  From  copies  of  these  labels  made  out  in  1666  and  1667 
we  know  exactly  how  long  it  took  to  convey  the  mails  between  London  and  the 


ROADS  AND  SPEED  IOI 

land  from  the  post  towns.  The  Post  Office  had  for  its  own  use  a 
table  of  places  along  the  great  roads,1  and  from  the  middle  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  private  individuals  began  to  publish  road 
maps.  On  these  maps,  the  post  towns  are  marked  by  a  castle  with 
a  flag  flying  from  it.  Some  of  them  are  quite  artistically  done  and 
represent  on  a  large  scale  every  important  road  in  England  with 
the  places  where  branch  roads  leave  them.  One  map  has  each  road 
outlined  on  a  long  scroll,  and  it  gives  the  rivers,  brooks,  bridges, 
elevations,  villages,  post  towns,  forests,  and  branch  roads  through- 
out the  whole  distance.2  In  1668,  Hicks,  in  writing  to  Arlington's 
secretary,  advised  him  not  to  have  a  new  map  of  the  post  roads 
printed,  fearing  the  great  changes  that  might  thereby  be  produced 
in  the  Post  Office.  He  says:  "When  Parliament  sees  how  all  the 
branches  lie  and  most  of  them  carried  on  at  the  charge  of  those 
in  the  country  concerned,  they  will  try  to  have  them  carried 
through  by  the  Postmaster-General,  which  will  be  very  charge- 
able." 3 

i  At  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century,  the  five  great  roads  to 
Edinburgh,  Holyhead,  Bristol,  Plymouth,  and  Dover  remained 
practically  unchanged.  The  Plymouth  road  had  been  continued  to 

important  cities  of  the  kingdom  although  the  time  varied  more  or  less  at.  different 
trips  and  different  seasons. 

Between  Hours 

London  and  Yarmouth  1  From  29  to  32 

Plymouth  50       58 

York  39      42 

Chester  30      56 

Bristol  25      30 

Gloucester  20      26] 

Portsmouth  15       23 

Edinburgh  73       103  * 

Newcastle  57      81 

Manchester  32      48 

Preston  47      58 

Dover  19      22 

Southampton  18       23 
(Col.  S.  P.  D.,  1667-68,  pp.  117, 118,  120, 121 ;  1666-67,  PP-  388,  389.) 

*  Reproved  for  slowness. 

1  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1673-75,  p.  494.        2  John  Ogilby,  Itinerarium  Angliae,  1675. 
8  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1667-68,  p.  543- 


102      THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

Falmouth  and  the  Northern  Road  now  passed  through  York.  The 
greatest  changes  noticeable  are  in  the  Southern  and  Eastern  coun- 
ties. In  the  South,  nearly  all  the  coast  towns  were  now  connected 
with  the  Falmouth  road,  and  the  post  ran  to  the  extreme  south- 
west of  Cornwall.  Portsmouth  had  a  direct  service  from  London 
through  Arundel  and  Chichester.  There  were  branches  from  the 
Falmouth  road  to  several  towns  in  Dorset  and  Somerset,  but  as 
a  rule  the  country  between  the  two  great  roads  to  the  West  was 
poorly  supplied.  A  new  road  of  considerable  importance  ran  from 
Maidenhead  on  the  Bristol  road  through  Abingdon,  Gloucester, 
Cardiff,  and  Swansea  to  Milford,  where  there  was  a  packet  boat  for 
Ireland.  From  this  road  there  were  a  few  unimportant  branches  to 
the  North. 

In  the  Northeast,  the  post  road  to  Edinburgh  now  passed 
through  York  to  Northallerton.  From  York  there  was  a  branch 
to  Scarborough  and  Whitby.  A  new  road  left  the  Edinburgh  road 
at  Royston,  about  forty  miles  from  London,  and  passed  along 
the  coast  nearly  parallel  to  the  great  road,  through  Newmarket, 
Lynn,  Boston,  and  Hull  to  Bridlington.  Another  branch  left  New- 
market for  Norwich  and  the  seacoast  towns  of  northern  Norfolk. 
An  important  road  left  London  for  Yarmouth,  with  branches  to 
the  coast  towns  of  Suffolk.  One  new  road  ran  through  the  mid- 
land counties,  leaving  the  Holyhead  road  about  thirty  miles 
from  London  and  passing  through  Sheffield,  Manchester,  and  Pres- 
ton to  Carlisle.  Derby  was  supplied  by  an  east  and  west  road 
from  Grimsby  to  Manchester.  Liverpool  had  a  post  road  to  Man- 
chester. In  1683,  provision  was  made  for  an  extension  of  the  post 
roads  by  an  order  issued  to  the  Postmaster-General  to  set  up 
posts  between  the  market  towns  and  the  nearest  post  towns. 
These  were  called  bye-posts.  It  was  to  them  that  Hicks  had  ob- 
jected as  leading  to  increased  expense.  At  the  same  time  orders 
were  given  for  a  map  to  be  printed,  showing  where  all  these  bye- 
posts  were  situated  so  that  people  might  know  where  to  address 
their  letters.1 

In  Ireland,  there  were  three  main  post  roads,  running  from 
Dublin  through  Ulster,  Munster,  and  Connaught.2  There  were 

1  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  xiv,  app.,  p.  91  (64).  2  Joyce,  p.  53. 


ROADS  AND  SPEED  103 

practically  no  post  roads  worthy  of  the  name  in  Scotland.  That 
part  of  the  great  North  Road  beyond  the  Tweed  was  English  rather 
than  Scotch.  Between  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow  there  was  a  foot- 
post.  The  mail  was  also  carried  between  Glasgow  and  Port- 
pa  trick.1  In  1699,  the  length  of  the  roads  in  America  over  which 
the  mails  passed  was  700  miles.  These  roads  connected  the  princi- 
pal towns  along  the  Atlantic  coast.2 

In  1696,  the  Postmaster- General  reported  favourably  on  the 
establishment  of  a  cross  post  road  between  Bristol  and  Exeter.3 
The  report  was  approved,  and  two  years  later  Bristol  and  Exeter 
had  direct  postal  communication.  Colonial  and  foreign  letters  for 
Bristol,  after  their  arrival  in  Falmouth,  still  went  via  London.4 
Towns  adjacent  to  Bristol  and  Exeter,  which  might  have  been  con- 
nected with  the  cross  post,  remained  separated.  For  example, 
the  post  went  from  London  through  Cirencester  to  Wotton-under- 
Edge,  which  was  within  fourteen  miles  of  Bristol,  yet  letters 
from  Cirencester  to  Exeter  went  via  London.5  The  Exeter-Bris- 
tol cross  post  proved  a  success.  After  it  had  been  in  operation 
three  years,  it  produced  over  £350  net  profits  a  year.  The  use 
of  cross  posts  was  advocated  as  leading  to  the  conveyance  of 
a  larger  number  of  letters,  and  private  individuals  started  to 
establish  them.6  In  1700,  the  post  road  from  Exeter  to  Bristol 
was  continued  to  Chester  through  Worcester  and  Shrewsbury.7 
Three  years  later,  a  direct  road  was  ordered  between  Exeter  and 
Truro,  but  it  seems  to  have  been  discontinued  after  one  year's 
trial.8 

The  post  roads  throughout  the  kingdom  had  not  been  measured 
correctly.  A  mile  on  the  London-Edinburgh  road  was  fully  ten 
furlongs.  This  had  resulted  in  a  decreased  revenue  from  post 
horses  and  often  unjustifiable  reprimands  for  slowness.  By  a  pro- 
vision in  the  act  of  1711,  it  was  ordered  that  all  the  post  roads  in 
the  kingdom  should  be  measured.  This  was  to  be  done  by  officials 

1  Cal.  T.  B.  6*  P.,  1739-41,  p.  240;  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  xiv,  app.,  p.  94  (67);  Acts  of 
the  Part,  of  Scotland,  ix,  p.  417  (5  Wm.  III). 

2  Cal.  T.  P.,  1697-1702,  p.  280.  3  Ibid.,  1657-96,  p.  55. 

4  Latimer,  Annals  of  Bristol,  p.  488.  B  Cal.  T.  P.,  1697-1702,  pp.  21-22. 

6  Ibid.,  1697-1702,  p.  56.  7  Ibid.,  1702-07,  p.  26. 

8  Ibid.,  1702-07,  p.  134. 


104      THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

appointed  by  the  Postmaster-General  and  the  measurements  left 
in  the  general  offices  in  London,  Edinburgh,  and  Dublin.1 

As  the  seventeenth  century  had  seen  the  extension  of  roads  in 
the  southern  and  eastern  counties  of  England,  so  the  eighteenth 
century  was  marked  by  the  establishment  of  posts  in  those  parts 
of  the  kingdom  most  affected  by  the  industrial  revolution.  The 
country  about  Birmingham,  Kidderminster,  and  Worcester  was  to 
share  in  the  better  postal  facilities  offered  by  the  mail  coaches. 
Lancashire  and  the  West  Riding  of  York  were  not  debarred  from 
the  use  of  Palmer's  innovation.  This  was  especially  the  case  in 
Liverpool,  Manchester,  Newcastle,  Halifax,  and  Leeds,  for  where 
industrial  expansion  paved  the  way,  the  coaches  were  sure  to  follow. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  the  roads  in  Ireland 
were  attracting  considerable  attention,  and  it  was  the  slow  speed 
made  by  the  mail  carts  there  which  was  a  primary  cause  in  pro- 
ducing any  improvement.  The  Postmasters-General  were  directed 
to  cause  surveys  to  be  made  and  maps  drawn  of  those  roads  in  Ire- 
land over  which  the  mail  passed.  The  roads  were  to  be  levelled 
so  that  the  ascent  or  descent  should  be  no  more  than  one  foot  in 
thirty-five  wherever  this  was  practicable,  the  expense  to  be  borne 
by  the  county  or  barony.2  This  was  in  1805,  and  the  next  year  the 
Grand  Jury  was  given  the  power  to  call  for  another  survey,  and 
the  surveyor  whom  they  appointed  was  to  decide  as  to  the  necessity 
for  a  change  in  the  direction  of  the  road.  Copies  of  all  Grand  Jury 
presentments  were  to  be  made  to  the  Postmasters-General.3  In 
1813  the  Grand  Juries  were  empowered  to  present  for  damages 
accruing  to  owners  and  occupiers  of  land,  such  damages  to  be 
raised  by  the  county  and  advanced  from  the  consolidated  fund.4 

After  1817,  the  Postmasters- General  were  able  to  report  a  con- 
siderable acceleration  in  the  speed  at  which  the  mails  were  carried. 
This  was  owing  largely  to  the  introduction  of  a  lighter  and  more  im- 
proved type  of  mail  coach,  and  after  1821  the  use  of  steam  packet- 
boats  in  the  case  of  the  transportation  of  the  Irish  and  continental 
mails.  Letters  leaving  London  at  8  P.M.  on  Tuesday  for  Ireland 
had  not  been  delivered  in  Dublin  until  10  A.M.  on  Friday.  In  1817 

1  9  Anne,  c.  n.  2  45  Geo.  Ill,  c.  43. 

«  46  Geo.  Ill,  c.  134.  4  53  Geo.  Ill,  c.  146. 


ROADS  AND  SPEED  105 

they  arrived  on  Thursday  in  time  for  delivery  on  that  day.1  In 
1828,  the  coaches  travelled  from  London  to  Holyhead,  a  distance 
of  261  miles,  in  twenty-nine  hours  and  seventeen  minutes.  Four 
years  later  the  time  had  been  reduced  to  twenty-eight  hours.2  By 
the  introduction  of  one  of  the  patent  mail  coaches  on  the  Yarmouth 
road,  the  inhabitants  of  that  town  were  enabled  to  answer  their 
letters  a  day  earlier.  The  coach  left  London  at  the  usual  time 
(8  P.M.),  arriving  in  Yarmouth  at  11.40  A.M.,  returning  at  3  P.M.  on 
the  same  day.3  The  mails  to  Manchester  and  Liverpool  travelled  at 
the  rate  of  nine  miles  an  hour  over  the  greater  part  of  the  road.4 
The  average  speed  varied  from  eight  to  nine  miles  an  hour.  To 
give  the  exact  figures,  the  highest  speed  attained  in  England  was 
ten  miles  and  five  furlongs  an  hour,  the  slowest  six  miles,  and  the 
average  eight  miles  and  seven  furlongs.5  In  Ireland  the  highest 
speed  attained  by  the  mail  coaches  was  nine  miles  and  one  furlong 
an  hour,  the  slowest  speed  six  miles  and  seven  furlongs,  and  the 
average  eight  miles  and  two  furlongs.6  Mail  carts  drawn  by  twro 
horses  were  also  used  largely  in  Ireland  for  the  conveyance  of  the 
mails,  and  by  these  the  speed  was  not  so  great.  The  highest  speed 
made  by  them  was  seven  miles  and  five  furlongs  an  hour,  the  slowest 
five  miles  and  one  furlong,  and  the  average  six  miles  and  three  fur- 

1  London  Times,  1817,  Aug.  28,  p.  2. 

2  Rep.  Commrs.,  1830,  xiv,  p.  347;  1831-32,  xvii,  p.  7. 

8  London  Times,  1819,  July  17,  p.  2.    Yarmouth  is  distant  from  London  124  miles. 

4  Ibid.,  1821,  Aug.  23,  p.  3. 

6  Ace.  &•  P.,  1836,  xlv,  364,  pp.  2  f. 

The  following  times  are  given  in  Rep.  Commrs,  1830,  xiv:  — 

p.  348        London  to  Liverpool  22  hrs.    7  min.,  distance  202  miles 

p.  349        London  to  Bristol  13          14  122 

p.  350        Bristol  to  Milford  19         38  149 

p.  351        London  to  Carlisle  34  7  311 

(via  Leeds) 

p.  352        Carlisle  to  Portpatrick          n         32  85 

P-  353        Bristol  to  Birmingham          10         29  87 

6  Ace.  &•  P.,  1836,  xlv,  364,  p.  4. 

The  following  times  are  given  in  Rep.  Commrs.,  1830  xiv:  — 

p.  354        Dublin  via  Cashell  to  Cork  22  hrs.  distance  126  miles 

P- 355        Cork  to  Waterford  12  hrs.    4  min.,  72 

p.  356        Dublin  to  Belfast  13         15  80 

p.  356       Donaghadee  to  Belfast  2         24  14 


106      THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

longs.1  In  Scotland  the  highest  speed  was  ten  miles  and  four  fur- 
longs an  hour,  the  slowest  seven  miles,  and  the  average  eight  miles 
and  two  furlongs.2 

The  mails  which  left  London  at  8  P.M.  arrived  in  Holyhead  at 
12.6  A.M.  on  the  next  day  but  one.  The  packet  left  Holyhead 
twenty-five  minutes  later 'for  Howth.  The  packet  left  Howth  at 
4  P.M.  for  Holyhead,  and  the  mails  for  London  left  Holyhead  at 
12.15  A.M.  The  passage  across  the  Irish  Sea  took  from  five  to  eight 
hours.  The  London  coach  arrived  in  Milford  at  5.27  A.M.,  travel- 
ling at  a  rate  of  eight  miles  an  hour,  and  twenty -five  minutes  after 
its  arrival,  the  packet  left  for  Dunmore.  Another  left  Dunmore 
with  the  mails  at  12  P.M.,  and  the  coach  left  Milford  for  London 
at  7.30  P.M.3  The  London  mail  coach  arrived  at  Portpa trick  at 
10.27  P.M.,  fifty  hours  and  twenty-seven  minutes  from  London. 
The  packet  did  not  leave  Portpatrick  until  6.10  A.M.,  after  the 
arrival  of  the  Glasgow  mail,  which  left  Glasgow  at  4.45  P.M.,  arriv- 
ing at  5.6  A.M.  The  packet  left  Donaghadee  at  noon,  and  the  mail 
left  Portpatrick  at  4  P.M.,  arriving  in  Glasgow  at  6  A.M.  Ordinarily 
the  passage  across  took  four  hours.  The  London  mail  coach  ar- 
rived in  Liverpool  at  6  P.M.,  twenty-two  hours  from  London,  and 
left  at  10.30  P.M.  Packets  sailed  from  Liverpool  and  Kingstown  at 
5P.M.  and  5.15  P.M.,  the  time  for  crossing  being  about  fourteen 
hours.  No  London  letters  went  via  Liverpool  until  1841. 4 

The  method  used  to  ensure  a  rapid  transmission  of  the  mails  by 
the  coaches  was  as  follows:  Time  bills  were  issued  to  the  guards  of 
the  different  coaches.  On  these  bills  were  printed  the  speed  that 
should  be  made  from  stage  to  stage,  and  it  was  the  guard's  duty  to 
fill  in  the  time  made  by  the  coach  on  which  he  rode.  Penalties 
were  inflicted  for  any  mistakes  which  he  might  make  or  any  failure 
on  his  part  to  leave  the  bill  in  the  office  at  the  end  of  his  route.  On 
some  of  the  time  bills  it  was  set  forth  that  a  fine  of  one  shilling  was 
payable  by  the  proprietor  for  each  minute  that  the  coach  was  late 
and  he  might  recover  it  from  the  guard  or  coachman  if  the  delay 
was  due  to  the  negligence  of  either  of  them.  The  coachmen  were 

>  Ace.  &•  P.,  1836,  xlv,  364,  p.  7.      *  8  Ibid.,  1836,  xlv,  364,  p.  5. 

»  Rep.  Commrs.,  1831-32,  xvii,  pp.  7,  373-74- 
4  Ibid.,  1831-32,  xvii,  pp.  373~74- 


'ROADS  AND  SPEED  107 

ordered  to  make  up  any  time  lost  on  the  road  and  to  report  the 
horse  keepers  if  they  were  at  fault.1 

The  chief  cause  for  delay  was  the  lack  of  close  connection  between 
the  mail  coaches  and  the  packets  to  and  from  Ireland.  In  1837  the 
London  mail  arrived  in  Holyhead  at  n  P.M.,  but  the  packet  did 
not  leave  for  Kingstown  until  8  A.M.,  a  change  having  been  made  in 
the  time  of  sailing.2  Letters  from  England  were  detained  in  Dub- 
lin eleven  hours  before  their  departure  for  the  rest  of  the  island.3 
More  than  one  third  of  the  Irish  letters  for  England  left  Kingstown 
by  the  day  packet  at  9  A.M.,  remaining  in  Holyhead  from  3  P.M.  to 
4  A.M.,  with  the  exception  of  the  letters  for  Chester  and  Manches- 
ter, which  were  forwarded  by  a  special  coach.4 

The  packets  from  Liverpool  started  shortly  before  the  arrival  of 
the  London  mail.  The  Commissioners  proposed  that  they  should 
be  detained  until  it  had  arrived,  but  this  was  not  done  until 
ten  years  later.5  The  packets  at  For tpa trick  always  waited  for  the 
mails Jrom  Glasgow,  and  as  these  were  nearly  always  late,  letters 
from  Carlisle  and  Northern  England  were  necessarily  detained.6 
The  station  at  Milford  had  always  given  the  most  trouble.  From 
a  financial  point  of  view  it  was  the  least  satisfactory,  and  English 
letters  for  the  south  of  Ireland  often  went  through  Holyhead.  The 
packet  left  Waterford 7  for  Milford  at  12  P.M.,  arriving  in  Milford 
about  noon,  but  the  mail  did  not  leave  for  London  until  7.30  P.M.8 
English  letters  for  Ireland  via  Milford  were  detained  from  ten  to 
thirteen  hours  in  Waterford.9 

Before  the  introduction  of  Penny  Postage,  the  use  of  railways  had 
only  started.  In  1837,  it  was  objected  that  the  railways  could  never 
be  of  much  use  in  this  respect  because  they  could  not  travel  at  night 

1  Rep.  Commrs.,  1837,  xxxiv,  yth  rep.,  app.,  nos.  40-45. 

2  Ibid.,  1837,  xxxiv,  7th  rep.,  app.,  no.  u.  The  packet  leaving  Holyhead  at  6.30 
P.M.  carried  letters  from  Birmingham,  brought  by  the  coach  from  that  place,  but  took 
no  London  letters  (Ace.  &•  P.,  1841,  ix,  p.  9). 

Rep.  Commrs.,  1831-32,  xvii,  p.  325. 

Ibid.,  1837,  xxxiv,  7th  rep.,  app.  no.  n. 

Ibid.,  1831-32,  xvii,  pp.  5-9  ;  Ace.  6r  P.,  1841,  xix. 

Rep.  Commrs.,  1831-32,  xvii,  pp.  5-9. 

Sometimes  the  packet  left  Dunmore.  See  Rep.  Commrs.,  1831-32,  xvii,  pp.  373-4. 

Ibid.,  1831-32,  xvii,  pp.  5-9,  373-74- 

Ibid.,  p.  325. 


108   THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

for  fear  of  accidents.  In  answer  to  this  objection  it  was  pointed  out 
that  trains  between  Liverpool  and  Manchester  and  Leeds  and  Selby 
found  no  difficulty  in  that  respect.1  In  1837,  mails  were  carried 
between  Manchester  and  Liverpool  at  a  rate  of  twenty  miles  an 
hour,  and  these  trains  left  both  Liverpool  and  Manchester  as  late 
as  5  P.M.2  The  Postmaster-General  was  given  authority  by  Parlia- 
ment to  require  any  railway  to  carry  mails  either  by  ordinary  or 
special  train  and  to  regulate  the  speed  to  the  maximum  of  the  fast- 
est passenger  train,  as  well  as  to  control  places,  times  and  duration 
of  stoppage  and  the  times  of  arrival,  provided  that  such  regulations 
were  reasonable.  He  might  require  the  exclusive  use  of  a  carriage,  if 
necessary /provided  either  by  the  railway  or  himself  as  seemed  better 
to  himself.  In  1844  he  was  allowed  to  order  a  speed  not  in  excess  of 
twenty-seven  miles  an  hour  but  he  complained  that  he  was  unable 
to  enforce  his  regulations  although  the  speed  was  increasing.  In 
1855  a  parliamentary  committee  reported  in  favour  of  a  deduction 
of  payment  for  irregularity  on  the  part  of  the  railways  and  the 
fining  of  the  Post  Office  for  irregularity  in  dealing  with  mail  to  be 
entrusted  to  the  railways,  the  amounts  of  such  deductions  and  fines 
to  be  a  matter  of  contract,  and  in  addition  it  was  advised  that  the 
Postmaster-General's  demands  with  reference  to  speed  should  be 
certified  by  the  Railway  Department  of  the  Board  of  Trade  to  be 
consistent  with  safety.  In  conformity  with  this  resolution,  the 
Postmaster- General  proposed  to  pay  a  bonus  to  the  railways 
when  their  trains  were  on  time  and  to  exact  a  penalty  from  either 
the  railway  or  the  Post  Office  whichever  were  the  offender,  but 
the  proposition  was,  as  a  rule,  not  very  favourably  received  by  the 
railways.3 

1  Rep.  Com.,  1837-38,  xx,  pt.  i,  p.  469,  no.  17. 

2  Rep.  Commrs.,  1837,  xxxiv,  7th  rep.,  app.,  no.  13. 

•  i  and  2  Viet,  c.  98;  7  and  8  Viet,  c..  85;  Rep.  Com.,  1854,  xi,  411,  p.  xiii;  Rep. 
P.  G.,  1857,  p.  7- 


CHAPTER  VII 

SAILING  PACKETS  AND  FOREIGN  CONNECTIONS 

THE  Irish  mail  service  was  the  first  to  boast  a  regular  sailing 
packet.1  The  postal  expenditure  for  the  year  1598  included  £130 
for  a  bark  to  carry  letters  and  despatches  between  Holyhead 
and  Dublin,  and  an  additional  vessel  was  hired  occasionally  for 
the  same  purpose.2  At  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
Queen  Elizabeth  ordered  packets  to  be  established  at  Milford 
Haven  and  Falmouth  to  ply  between  England  and  Ireland.  This 
order  was  probably  temporary,  being  intended  to  furnish  a  means 
of  communication  only  during  Essex's  expedition.3  In  1649  the 
port  of  departure  for  the  Irish  packets  was  changed  from  Holyhead 
to  Portinllain  in  Carnarvon  and  at  the  same  time  the  land  stages 
were  altered  to  meet  the  new  conditions.4  Prideaux  reported  the 
same  year  that  the  cost  of  these  packets  averaged  £600  a  year.5 

In  1653  the  Council  of  State  gave  orders  for  the  revival  of  the  old 
packet  service  between  Milford  and  Waterford.  At  the  same  time 
Chester  was  substituted  for  Portinllain  as  the  point  of  departure 
on  the  English  side,  and  mails  were  carried  weekly  between  the  two 
countries  by  the  Milford  and  Chester  Packets.6  The  establishment 
of  these  boats  was  made  one  of  the  conditions  under  which  the  post 
was  farmed  in  the  same  year.7  The  situation  of  Holyhead,  how- 
ever, was  so  much  in  its  favour  that  in  1693  a  contract  was  signed 
for  the  conveyance  of  the  mails  between  Holyhead  and  Dublin. 
Mr.  Vickers,  the  contractor,  agreed  to  maintain  three  packet  boats 
for  this  purpose  for  £450  a  year.  He  also  undertook  to  provide  two 
boats  for  the  mail  service  between  Portpatrick  and  Donaghadee. 
When  the  Scotch  was  separated  from  the  English  Post  Office  in 

1  Col.  S.  P.  Ire.,  1574-85,  P-  401-        2  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  *iv,  app.,  p.  37  (15). 
*  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1598-1601,  p.  107.      4  Ibid.,  1648-49,  p.  210. 

5  Jo.  H.  C.,  1648-51,  p.  385. 

6  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1644,  pp.  6,  29;  1641-43,  p.  501. 

7  Cal.  S.  P.  D.t  1652-53,  pp.  312,  449. 


1 10     THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

1695,  three  packet  boats  came  under  the  control  of  Scotland.1  Upon 
the  separation  of  the  British  and  Irish  Posts  in  1784,  it  was  provided 
that  each  office  should  receive  its  own  proportion  of  the  inland 
postage  collected  on  letters  passing  between  the  two  countries. 
The  packet  service  between  the  two  countries  continued  to  be  man- 
aged by  the  English  Postmaster-General,  to  whom  all  receipts  were 
forwarded.  In  return  for  this  they  were  required  to  pay  to  the  Irish 
Office  a  sum  not  exceeding  £4000  a  year.  This  was  to  be  the  rule 
until  Ireland  had  established  packet  boats  of  her  own.2 

The  Irish  Post  Office,  before  the  Act  of  Union,  had  employed 
boats  called  wherries  for  the  despatch  of  special  messengers  and 
expresses  to  England.  In  the  course  of  time  they  lost  their  special 
character  and,  after  1801,  were  used  to  carry  passengers  and  goods 
in  opposition  to  the  Holyhead  packets.  In  1813,  Lees,  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Irish  Office,  informed  the  London  Office  that  these 
wherries  would  henceforth  be  employed  to  carry  the  Irish  mails  to 
Holyhead.  This  was  actually  done  for  six  weeks  and  the  regular 
packets  arrived  on  the  English  side  without  the  mail,  which  was 
brought  by  boats  that,  as  a  rule,  did  not  arrive  until  after  the  coach 
had  left  for  London.  Lees  may  have  been  obstinate  and  ill  advised 
but  there  was  no  doubt  that  he  was  acting  entirely  within  his 
rights.  The  question  then  arose,  should  the  Irish  Office  receive 
that  part  of  the  £4000  due  them  while  the  Holyhead  packets  did 
not  carry  the  mails?  The  Postmaster-General  decided  that  they 
should,  much  to  Freeling's  disgust.  Lees  had  obtained  his  object, 
for  two  years  later  Parliament  passed  an  act  increasing  the  amount 
payable  to  the  Irish  Office  to  £8000  a  year.3 

Shortly  after  the  Restoration,  two  packet  boats  were  employed 
between  Deal  and  the  Downs.  They  carried  letters  to  and  from 
the  ships  of  the  merchant  marine  and  the  Royal  Navy  lying  there. 
They  also  collected  letters  from  vessels  arriving  from  foreign  ports 
and  brought  them  to  the  shore  whence  they  were  transmitted  by 
the  General  Post.4  By  an  act  passed  in  1767  the  Isle  of  Man  was 
for  the  first  time  supplied  with  a  postal  service.  A  packet  boat  was 

1  Cat.  T.  P.,  1557-1696,  p.  308.  8  24  Geo.  Ill,  c.  6. 

8  Joyce,  pp.  380-83;  55  Geo.  Ill,  c.  145. 

4  Cat.  S.  P.  D.,  1667-68,  pp.  248,  249;  Joyce,  p.  46. 


SAILING  PACKETS  AND  FOREIGN  CONNECTIONS     III 

to  run  between  Whitehaven  and  the  Port  of  Douglas  in  the  island.1 
In  1828  sixteen  packet  boats  were  employed  in  carrying  mails 
between  the  coast  towns  and  to  and  from  the  outlying  islands  of  the 
United  Kingdom.  All  of  these  boats  were  hired  by  the  Post  Office, 
except  those  from  Weymouth  to  Jersey  and  Guernsey.2 

Early  in  the  sixteenth  century  Dover  was  the  port  of  departure 
and  arrival  for  letters  to  and  from  the  continent,  and  Calais  was  the 
distributing  point  on  the  other  side,  although  the  royal  mail  was 
occasionally  conveyed  between  Rye  and  Dieppe.3  From  Calais  the 
letters  were  carried  to  their  destination  by  the  English  messengers 
to  whom  they  were  entrusted.  They  took  up  post  horses  along  the 
way,  paying  for  them  as  they  proceeded,  and  often  grumbling  at 
the  excessive  charges  which  were  demanded.4  Letters  from  abroad 
directed  to  England  were  usually  carried  as  far  as  Calais  by  foreign 
messengers.  The  foreign  Postmaster- General  would  then  send  his 
bill  to  the  English  Postmaster- General  for  expenses  so  incurred.5 
Regular  sailing  packets  were  not  used  to  carry  the  mails  between 
Dover  and  Calais  during  the  sixteenth  century,  but  merchant  ves- 
sels were  employed  by  the  Post  Office. 

Witherings'  appointment  as  Foreign  Postmaster-General  in  1632 
was  made  the  occasion  for  a  report  to  Sir  John  Coke  on  the  foreign 
postal  service.  The  immediate  cause  of  the  report  was  the  fact 
that  mails  had  not  arrived  from  Germany,  the  Hague  and  Brussels. 
The  fault  was  laid  upon  the  messengers,  who  were  accused  of 
"minding  their  own  peddling  traffic  more  than  the  service  of  the 
state  or  the  merchants,  omitting  many  packages,  sometimes  stay- 
ing for  the  vending  of  their  own  commodities,  many  times  through 
neglect  or  lying  in  tippling  houses."  The  report  goes  on  to  express 
confidence  in  Witherings  and  in  his  plan  for  the  reform  of  the  for- 
eign post.6  In  1631,  thirteen  messengers  were  employed  to  carry 
letters  to  the  continent:  three  for  France;  six  for  Germany,  Italy 
and  the  Netherlands;  and  four,  who  travelled  to  Paris  and  other 
parts  of  France  on  special  occasions.7  The  service  which  they  gave 

1  7  Geo.  Ill,  c.  50.  2  Rep.  Commrs.,  1830,  xiv,  app.,  nos.  78,  80. 

3  Col.  S.  P.  D.,  1581-90,  p.  485.        4  Col.  S.  P.  For.,  1553-58,  pp.  239,  341. 
6  Cal  S.  P.  D.,  1580-1625,  p.  188;  1581-90,  p.  84;  L.  &•  P.  Hen.  VIII,  i,  3639. 

6  Hist.  MSS.  Com.,  Rep.,  12,  app.,  pt.  i,  p.  478. 

7  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1631-33,  p.  242;  Hist.  MSS.  Com.,  Rep.,  12,  app.,  pt.  2,  p.  103. 


112     THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

was  inadequate  and  slow,  and  in  1633  the  foreign  post,  at  Wither- 
ings'  suggestion,  was  ordered  to  be  conducted  on  the  following 
principles.  Packet  posts  were  to  be  appointed  at  suitable  stages  to 
run  day  and  night  without  stopping.  This  was  the  plan  which  was 
commented  upon  favourably  in  the  report  to  Sir  John  Coke.  The 
Foreign  Postmaster- General  was  to  take  the  oaths  of  Allegiance 
and  Supremacy,  to  have  an  office  in  London,  and  to  give  notice 
at  what  time  the  public  were  to  bring  in  their  letters  for  despatch 
to  the  continent.  A  register  was  also  to  be  kept,  in  which  should 
be  enrolled  the  names  of  all  persons  bringing  letters,  together  with 
the  names  of  those  to  whom  they  were  addressed.  The  letters 
themselves  were  placed  in  a  packet  and  locked  and  sealed  with 
the  Foreign  Postmaster-General's  seal.  Letters  from  abroad  for 
ambassadors  residing  in  England  and  for  the  Government  were 
to  be  delivered  at  once,  after  which  a  table  of  all  other  letters  was 
to  be  set  up  for  every  one  to  see  and  demand  his  own.1 

Witherings  attempted  next  to  come  to  some  agreement  with  the 
postal  officials  of  foreign  countries  about  the  despatch  of  letters.  In 
Calais  he  met  the  Countess  Taxis,  secretary  of  the  Postmaster  of 
Ghent,  and  she  agreed  to  settle  stages  between  Antwerp  and 
Calais.  Witherings  himself  established  stages  between  London 
and  Dover.  There  had  always  been  trouble  with  the  boatmen  who 
conveyed  the  mail  between  Dover  and  Calais.  Witherings  reported 
that  he  had  found  a  man,  who  for  405.  would  wait  for  the  packet 
and  depart  with  it  at  once,  carrying  nothing  else.  The  messengers 
hitherto  employed  between  Antwerp  and  Calais  were  dismissed.2 
The  arrangement  in  France  for  the  carriage  of  letters  to  and  from 
England  was  decidedly  unique.  Witherings  obtained  the  permission 
of  the  French  ambassador  to  settle  stages  in  France  himself.3 

In  1 644,  King  Charles,  from  his  headquarters  at  Oxford,  ordered 
sailing  packets  to  be  established  at  Weymouth  to  ply  between  that 
town  and  Cherbourg.  This  was  done  ostensibly  for  the  accom- 
modation of  the  merchants  in  the  southwest  of  England.  James 
Hicks  was  ordered  to  live  in  Weymouth  for  the  purpose  of  exercis- 
ing a  general  oversight  over  all  letters  going  or  coming  by  these 

1  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1631-33,  p.  522.     2  Hist.  MSS.  Com.,  Rep.,  12,  app.,  pt.  2,  p.  6. 
»  Cal.  S.  P.  D.t  1634-35,  p.  193. 


SAILING  PACKETS  AND  FOREIGN  CONNECTIONS     113 

packets.  All  dues  must  be  paid  before  they  were  allowed  to  depart 
and  the  masters  were  accountable  to  him  for  passage  money.  Post- 
age was  charged  on  all  letters  going  to  or  coming  from  any  part  of 
England  except  those  on  His  Majesty's  service.  No  letters  were 
to  be  sent  from  those  parts  of  England  in  the  hands  of  the  rebels.1 
Until  1638,  Flanders  was  the  only  country  with  which  England 
had  come  to  an  agreement  concerning  the  mutual  exchange  of 
the  correspondence  of  each.  In  that  year,  a  similar  agreement  was 
concluded  with  de  Nouveau,  the  French  Postmaster-General.  All 
letters  between  England  and  France  were  henceforth  to  pass 
through  Dover,  Calais,  Boulogne,  Abbeville,  and  Amiens.  Both 
the  French  and  English  kings  ratified  this  agreement,  and  all 
others  were  prohibited  by  them  from  infringing  upon  the  mono- 
polies enjoyed  by  the  two  Postmasters-General.2  On  special  occa- 
sions, of  course,  both  the  French  and  English  kings  sent  special  mes- 
sengers but  they  were  not  used  so  often  as  before.3  In  1640,  the 
Governor  of  the  Merchant  Adventurers  was  asked  to  give  his 
opinion  upon  the  question  of  foreign  correspondence  concerning 
which  there  was  considerable  dissatisfaction,  especially  in  the  case 
of  letters  sent  to  Flanders  and  Holland.  The  Governor  in  his  reply 
said  that  complaints  had  hitherto  been  restrained  because  of  the 
connection  of  the  state  with  the  foreign  post.  He  added  that  some 
time  before  a  letter  had  come  from  the  Court  of  their  company  at 
Rotterdam,  complaining  about  the  overcharging  of  the  Company's 
letters.  He  did  not  care  to  investigate  the  question  alone  but  pro- 
posed that  it  be  entrusted  to  a  committee  composed  of  two  mem- 
bers from  each  of  the  great  companies,  the  Merchant  Adventurers, 
the  Turkish,  the  Eastland,  and  the  French.4  After  the  Restor- 
ation, matters  were  adjusted  with  de  Nouveau  and  provision  was 
made  for  the  transmission  of  letters  to  England  twice  a  week.5  At 
the  same  time  an  attempt  was  made  to  reach  an  understanding 
with  the  burgomaster  of  Amsterdam  and  the  Dutch  ambassador  for 
the  conveyance  of  English  letters  to  Germany,  the  East,  and  Italy 
through  Holland.  Bishop,  the  English  Postmaster-General,  was 

1  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1644,  PP.  6,  29.  2  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  xiv,  app.,  p.  58  (37). 

1  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1639-40,  p.  457.  *  Ibid.,  1640,  p.  163. 

6  Ibid.,  1660-61,  p.  82. 


114     THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

accused  of  accepting  money  for  making  this  bargain  and  the  pro- 
posed agreement  did  not  materialize.1  In  1665,  Frizell  was  sent 
abroad  to  talk  over  postal  connections  with  de  Nouveau  and  the 
Flemish  Postmaster-General,  de  Taxis,  between  whom  difficulties 
had  arisen.  De  Taxis  was  reminded  that  letters  from  Holland  for 
England  passing  through  Flanders  were  not  treated  in  accordance 
with  the  agreement  made  between  England  and  Flanders.2  The 
old  contract  was  continued,  for  in  1693  a  bill  was  presented  to  the 
English  Post  Office  by  the  next  in  order  of  the  House  of  Thurn  and 
Taxis,  referring  to  the  former  agreement.  £2711  was  then  due  to 
the  Flemish  Postmaster- General  and,  as  the  bill  was  presented  in 
the  form  of  a  petition  signed  by  the  Prince  of  the  House  and  his 
brothers  and  sisters,  there  was  probably  some  difficulty  experienced 
in  collecting  it.3  The  Dutch  were  not  satisfied  with  receiving  let- 
ters through  Flanders,  and  in  1667  we  find  the  Postmaster- General 
of  Holland  in  Harwich,  arranging  for  a  direct  service  with  Eng- 
land, which  was  established  in  the  following  year.4  Letters  to  and 
from  Holland  might  go  via  Calais  through  France  and  Flanders, 
or  by  sailing  packet  to  Nieuport  and  thence  through  Flanders,  or 
directly  from  Harwich  to  Helvoetsluys.  The  mail  for  Holland  left 
London  every  Tuesday  and  Thursday  night.  The  route  was  along 
the  Yarmouth  road  as  far  as  Colchester  and  then  directly  to  Har- 
wich. The  Harwich  boats  were  stopped  for  a  short  time  in  i672,5 
but  after  William's  accession  they  were  in  such  constant  service 
that  it  was  necessary  to  hire  extra  boats.6  Orders  were  often  given 
to  delay  them  until  the  arrival  of  an  express  from  the  King  and  on 
other  occasions  they  were  hurried  off  before  their  regular  time  for 
departure.7 

It  was  agreed  by  a  contract  signed  by  the  French  and  English 
Postmasters- General  in  1698  that  the  mails,  as  soon  as  they  arrived 
in  Dover  from  Calais  or  in  Calais  from  Dover,  should  be  forwarded 
by  "  express  "  to  London  and  Paris  respectively.  This  was  done  in 
England,  but  in  France  the  foreign  mail  continued  to  be  sent  at  the 

1  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1661-62,  p.  56.  *  Ibid.,  1664-65,  p.  489. 

8  Ibid.,  1693,  p.  57.  4  Ibid.,  1667,  p.  440. 

B  Ibid.,  1667-68,  p.  428;  1672,  p.  189.  e  Ibid.,  1690-91,  p.  119. 
7  Ibid.,  1690-91,  p.  552. 


'SAILING  PACKETS  AND  FOREIGN  CONNECTIONS    115 

regular  time  of  departure  and,  as  there  was  only  one  mail  a  day, 
English  letters  might  have  to  remain  in  Calais  for  nearly  twenty- 
four  hours,  if  the  packet  from  Dover  happened  to  be  late.  Cotton 
and  Frankland  remonstrated  but  Mr.  Pajot,  the  French  Post- 
master-General, returned  no  answer.  The  English  Postmasters- 
General  had  agreed  to  pay  about  £2500  a  year  to  Mr.  Pajot  for  the 
conveyance  of  English  letters  through  France.  One  or  two  instal- 
ments were  paid  before  the  war  broke  out.1  Nothing  further  was 
done  until  after  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht,  when  a  commission  was 
sent  to  France  to  negotiate  a  new  postal  agreement.  Pajot  refused 
to  accept  a  lump  sum  and  declared  that  each  letter  passing  through 
France  must  pay  the  ordinary  postage  according  to  the  French 
rates.  Objection  was  taken  to  this  as  the  French  rates  were  higher 
than  the  English,  but  objections  were  of  no  avail.  Pajot,  who  car- 
ried matters  with  a  high  hand,  gained  his  point.  By  the  act  of  1711, 
the  postage  for  a  single  letter  through  France  to  Italy  was  15^.,  and 
by  the  terms  of  the  new  treaty  with  France,  2 1  sous  would  have  to 
be  paid  by  the  English  Postmasters-General  for  the  conveyance  of 
a  letter  through  France.2 

The  withdrawal  of  the  sailing  packets  between  England  and 
France  in  1689  had  interrupted  postal  communication  between 
England  and  Spain,  since  the  regular  route  lay  through  Calais.  Ac- 
cordingly, packet  boats  were  hired  to  ply  between  Falmouth  and 
the  Groyne.3  After  the  Methuen  treaty  had  been  signed  and  while 
England  and  France  were  struggling  in  the  Spanish  Netherlands,  it 
was  proposed  to  replace  the  old  boats  between  Falmouth  and  Lis- 
bon by  new.  In  1703  a  weekly  packet  service,  supplied  by  four 
boats,  was  established  between  England  and  Portugal.4 

At  the  end  of  the  war,  Cotton  and  Frankland  contracted  with 
Mr.  Macky  to  furnish  five  boats  to  carry  the  mails  between  Eng- 
land, France,  and  Flanders  for  three  years.  In  1701,  the  contract 
was  extended  to  five  years  for  £1400  a  year.  Macky  was  to  provide 
boats  and  men  but  not  provisions  and  equipment.  In  case  war 
broke  out,  the  contract  would  become  void  at  once.  War  did  break 
out  the  next  year,5  and  during  the  war  the  packet  boats  from 

1  Joyce,  p.  77.  2  Ibid.,  p.  139.  *  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1691-92,  p.  97. 

4  Cal.  T.  P.,  1702-07,  p.  94.  5  Ibid.,  1702-07,  p.  145. 


Il6      THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

Harwich  to  Holland  were  kept  very  busy.  They  had  been  large 
boats,  well  manned  and  formidable  enough  to  take  care  of  them- 
selves in  an  emergency.  They  seem  even  to  have  become  the  ag- 
gressors at  times.  William,  himself,  as  was  natural,  felt  a  warm 
interest  in  them.  A  stranger  in  a  strange  land,  misunderstood  and 
personally  unpopular,  they  were  the  link  between  him  and  his 
home.  He  thought  that  speedier  boats  should  be  built  and  that 
when  pursued  they  should  attempt  to  escape  rather  than  stand  up 
to  their  pursuers.  The  government  had  four  narrow,  low  boats 
built  for  purposes  of  speed.  The  sailors  complained  that  the  new 
boats  were  so  low  in  the  water  that  they  were  constantly  being 
swept  by  the  waves  and  they  themselves  were  drenched  all  the  time. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  William's  move  was  in  the  right  direction, 
and  the  men  were  placated  by  an  increase  in  their  wages.  This 
could  be  done  the  more  easily  since  the  new  boats  were  smaller 
than  the  old  and  carried  fewer  men.1 

At  the  time  of  the  War  of  the  Austrian  Succession,  the  Dover 
packets  were  supplied  by  a  man  named  Pybus.  He  agreed  to  carry 
mails,  passengers,  and  expresses  from  Dover  to  Calais  and  Ostend. 
If  he  could  not  reach  the  latter  place  by  sea  he  was  to  land  the 
mails  and  have  them  forwarded  overland.  He  was  to  receive  as  pay 
the  fares  of  all  passengers,  but  so  many  officers  and  soldiers  had  to 
be  transported  free  that  he  was  paid  what  the  Treasury  considered 
that  he  lost  by  them.2  A  position  in  one  of  the  packets  was  so  dan- 
gerous in  time  of  war  that  a  fund  was  provided  for  the  widows  and 
children  of  the  killed  and  for  the  support  of  the  wounded.  This  was 
met  by  deducting  icd.  a  month  from  the  pay  of  each  seaman.3 

In  1803,  as  a  war  measure,  packets  were  established  between 
Falmouth,  Gibraltar,  and  Malta.4  It  was  understood  that  the  reg- 
ular service  to  Portugal  should  be  discontinued  at  the  same  time. 
In  1812  during  Wellington's  campaign  in  Portugal  and  Spain,  the 
Post  Office  announced  that  sailing  packets  would  be  despatched  to 

1  Joyce,  pp.  75,  76.  Mr.  Vanderpoel,  postmaster  at  the  Brill,  was  appointed  by 
the  king  to  take  charge  of  all  letters  and  despatches  sent  by  or  to  their  Majesties  by 
the  Harwich  boats  (Cat.  S.  P.  D.,  1691-92,  p.  404;  Cal.  T.  P.,  1702-07,  pp.  19,  33). 

2  Cal.  T.  B.  fir  P.,  1742-45,  P-  SOQ. 

»  Cal.  T.  P.,  1708-14,  p.  3.  «  43  Geo.  Ill,  c.  73. 


SAILING  PACKETS  AND  FOREIGN  CONNECTIONS     117 

Corunna  every  fortnight.1  From  Corunna  they  proceeded  to  Lis- 
bon before  returning  to  Falmouth.  There  was  some  complaint 
from  the  mercantile  interests  on  account  of  the  stop  at  Corunna, 
since  the  merchants  were  more  interested  in  the  Lisbon  markets 
than  in  keeping  up  communication  with  Wellington's  army.2 

By  the  end  of  1813,  Napoleon  had  lost  control  over  Europe. 
The  Dutch  had  freed  themselves  from  French  domination.  On 
November  26th  a  Dutch  mail  was  made  up  at  the  Post  Office  and 
despatched  for  Harwich.  The  regular  packet  boats  were  reestab- 
lished and  were  ordered  to  land  the  mails  at  Scheveningen,  a  small 
fishing  town  three  miles  from  the  Hague.3  Following  Napoleon's 
expulsion  to  Elba,  postal  communications  with  France  were  re- 
sumed. Mails  were  despatched  from  Dover  four  times  a  week,  on 
Tuesday,  Wednesday,  Thursday,  and  Friday,  leaving  London  at 
ii  P.M.  on  Tuesday  and  Friday  and  at  7  P.M.  on  Wednesday  and 
Thursday.4  Thirteen  sailing  vessels  were  stationed  at  Harwich  in 
1828,  all  of  them  hired  permanently.  Nine  sailed  between  Har- 
wich and  Helvoetsluys,  four  between  Harwich  and  Gothenburg.5 

The  London  merchants  in  1837  complained  that  no  mails  were 
made  up  in  Paris  for  London  on  Wednesday  and  Thursday.  The 
mails  from  Spain,  Italy,  and  Switzerland  arrived  in  Paris  on  Tues- 
day and  Friday,  and  Tuesday's  mails  were  not  despatched  until 
Friday.  An  arrangement  was  asked  for  by  which  a  daily  post  might 
be  established  between  Paris  and  London.  They  pointed  out  that 
there  was  a  daily  post  from  Paris  to  Calais,  a  daily  packet  service 
and  a  daily  post  from  Dover  to  London.6  English  letters  for  France 
arrived  in  Dover  daily  at  5  A.M.,  except  on  Wednesday  and  Satur- 
day, were  despatched  to  Calais  at  once  and  left  Calais  at  noon 
for  Boulogne  and  Paris.  On  post  nights,7  letters  did  not  leave 
London  until  midnight,  arrived  in  Dover  at  10  A.M.,  and  were  often 
not  in  time  for  the  Paris  mail,  which  left  Calais  at  noon.8  The  two 

1  London  Times,  1812,  Aug.  31,  p.  2. 

2  Ibid.,  1813,  Aug.  22,  p.  2.  8  Ibid.,  1813,  Nov.  29,  p.  3. 

4  Rep.  Commrs.,  1829,  xi,  p.  232;  Ace.  6*  P.,  1817,  p.  n;  London  Times,  1814, 
April  18,  p.  3. 

6  Rep.  Commrs.,  1830,  xiv,  app.,  no.  78.        6  London  Times,  1830,  May  21,  p.  3. 

7  Post  nights  were  probably  on  Wednesday  and  Saturday  nights. 

8  London  Times,  1837,  Jan.  14,  p.  7. 


Il8   THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

packets  between  Dover  and  Ostend  carried  the  mails  four  times  a 
week.1  By  virtue  of  a  treaty  with  Belgium,  these  packets  conveyed 
letters  both  ways  and  the  Belgium  Government  paid  £1000  a  year 
as  its  part  of  the  expenses.  The  Dover-Calais  boats  on  the  other 
hand  carried  letters  only  to  Calais,  and  not  from  Calais  to  Dover.2 
Letters  from  Belgium  to  Dover  went  first  to  London  and  this  held 
true  of  any  letters  from  Belgium  to  England  via  Dover.3 

It  was  provided  in  1835  that,  after  the  Postmaster- General  had 
entered  into  an  agreement  with  any  foreign  state  to  collect  and 
account  for  the  British  postage  on  letters  sent  from  the  United 
Kingdom  to  any  such  state,  it  should  be  optional  for  a  person  send- 
ing such  a  letter  to  pay  the  whole  amount  of  postage  in  advance  or 
to  pay  the  British  postage  only,  as  had  hitherto  been  the  custom,  or 
to  pay  neither.  The  entire  postage  on  letters  from  abroad  might  also 
be  paid  in  one  sum  and  the  part  due  the  foreign  state  was  then 
handed  over  by  the  English  Postmaster-General.4  In  the  following 
year  such  a  treaty  was  concluded  with  France,  the  English  colonies 
also  being  included  in  the  arrangement.  It  was  agreed  that  each 
country  should  account  to  the  other  according  to  the  method  of 
reckoning  postage  of  the  country  to  which  the  payment  was  made, 
a  settlement  to  be  concluded  every  three  months.5 

At  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century  William  Dummer 
entered  into  a  contract  to  supply  packet  boats  for  use  between 
England  and  the  West  Indies.  For  this  service  Dummer  provided 
five  boats,  each  one  of  150  tons  and  carrying  50  men.  Each  was 
to  make  three  round  trips  a  year,  thus  giving  fifteen  sailings  every 
twelve  months  from  both  England  and  the  West  Indies.6  These 
boats  were  to  make  Falmouth  their  home  port,  but  they  often  kept 
on  to  Plymouth,  probably  because  it  was  a  better  place  to  dispose 
of  their  smuggled  goods.7  Poor  Dummer  was  exceedingly  unfor- 
tunate with  his  West  India  boats.  The  first  one  to  sail  was  captured 
on  her  maiden  trip.  The  receipts  did  not  come  up  to  his  expect- 

1  Rep.  Commrs.,  1836,  xxviii,  6th  rep.,  p.  5.      2  Ibid.,  1836,  xxviii,  6th  rep.,  p.  5. 
*  Ibid.,  1836,  xxviii,  6th  rep.,  p.  7.  4  5  and  6  Wm.  IV.,  c.  25. 

5  London  Times,  1836,  June  20,  p.  5.  In  accounting  to  France  for  letters  sent  there 
postpaid,  England  agreed  to  consider  as  a  single  letter  any  enclosure  or  enclosures 
weighing  not  more  than  a  quarter  of  an  ounce,  according  to  the  French  method. 

6  Col.  T.  P.,  1702-07,  p.  64.  7  Ibid.,  p.  57. 


SAILING  PACKETS  AND  FOREIGN  CONNECTIONS     IIQ 

ations.  He  had  supposed  that  to  double  the  receipts  he  had  only 
to  double  the  rates,  but  like  other  men  before  and  after  him  he  had 
to  learn  the  effect  of  higher  rates  on  correspondence.1  In  1706  he 
wrote  that  it  was  a  losing  contract,2  and  in  the  same  year  the  Gov- 
ernment released  him  from  the  agreement  and  paid  him  for  two  of 
his  lost  packets.3  From  a  total  of  fourteen  boats  provided  for  the 
packet  service,  he  had  lost  nine.  The  Postmasters- General  recom- 
mended that  for  the  future  the  packets  should  leave  and  arrive  at 
Bideford,  which  was  less  exposed  to  the  enemies'  privateers  than 
either  Falmouth  or  Plymouth.4 

After  Dummer's  failure,  no  attempt  was  made  by  the  Post  Office 
to  revive  the  service  until  1745.  In  that  year  the  Postmasters- 
General  reported  to  the  Treasury  in  favour  of  regular  packets 
between  Falmouth  and  some  port  in  the  West  Indies.  The  report 
was  agreed  to,  and  orders  were  given  for  two  new  boats  to  be  sup- 
plied and  for  the  two  boats  between  Lisbon  and  Gibraltar  to  be 
transferred  there.5  The  agent  at  Falmouth  was  ordered  to  see  that 
each  boat  sailed  with  its  full  complement  of  men,  as  the  captains 
were  accustomed  to  discharge  some  of  the  crew  just  before  sailing 
and  pocket  their  wages.  He  was  also  to  make  sure  that  each  of  the 
boats  sailing  from  Falmouth  for  Lisbon,  the  West  Indies,  or  North 
America  was  British  built  and  navigated  by  British  seamen.  He 
must  keep  a  journal,  in  which  should  be  entered  the  time  that  he 
received  and  delivered  mails  and  expresses,  how  the  wind  and  tide 
served,  when  the  boats  arrived  and  departed,  and  any  delay  in  sail- 
ing which  might  occur.  The  captains  were  ordered  to  make  returns 
after  each  voyage  of  the  number  of  men  on  board.  The  crew  while 
on  shore  should  receive  their  accustomed  wages  and  " victuals" 
and,  if  any  were  discharged,  a  return  was  to  be  made  of  such  dis- 
charge, the  money  due  them  being  turned  over  to  the  pension  fund. 
It  had  become  customary  for  the  captains  not  to  pay  the  men  while 
they  were  on  shore  and  to  retain  the  money  owing  them.  Finally 
the  agent  was  to  see  that  the  packet  boats  proceeded  to  the  Roads 
the  day  before  the  mail  was  expected  from  London.6  Packets  had 

1  Joyce,  pp.  79,  81.  2  Cal.  T.  P.,  1702-07,  p.  105. 

1  Ibid.,  1702-07,  p.  29.  4  Ibid.,  1708-14,  p.  45. 

6  Cal.  T.  B.  and  P.,  1742-45.  PP-  7°5>  7°7-        c  Jo.  H.  C.t  1787,  pp.  816,  817. 


I2O      THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

already  been  employed  to  convey  mails  to  and  from  Madeira  and 
Brazil x  and  within  the  next  few  years  others  were  hired  to  ply 
between  Falmouth,  Buenos  Ayres,2  Colombia,  Mexico,  San  Do- 
mingo, and  Cuba,  and  between  the  British  West  Indies,  Colombia, 
and  Mexico.3 

In  1815,  the  Postmaster-General  was  given  permission  by  Act  of 
Parliament  to  establish  sailing  packets  between  the  United  King- 
dom, the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  Mauritius,  and  that  part  of  the  East 
Indies  embraced  within  the  charter  of  the  East  India  Company. 
Packet  rates  were  also  charged  for  letters  carried  by  war  vessels 
and  by  vessels  of  the  company,  but  in  the  former  case  the  consent 
of  the  Lords  of  the  Admiralty  for  the  use  of  their  ships  had  first  to 
be  obtained.  Letters  to  and  from  China  must  go  by  vessels  of  the 
company  and  no  others.  With  the  consent  of  the  Commissioners 
of  the  Treasury  or  any  three  of  them,  the  Postmaster- General  might 
allow  the  regular  sailing  packets  to  import  and  export  all  goods, 
which  might  legally  be  imported  or  exported,  but  in  the  case  of  tea, 
only  enough  for  the  use  of  those  on  board  should  be  carried.4 

When  Cotton  and  Frankland  were  appointed  Postmasters- 
General  in  1691,  the  following  sailing  packets  were  in  commission.5 

T  Flanders,  2  boats. 
Between  England  and  <  Holland,   3 

( Ireland,    3 

Between  Scotland  and  Ireland,         2 
At  Deal  for  the  Downs,6  2 

In  1689,  the  King  had  ordered  the  boats  between  Dover  and  Calais 
to  be  discontinued  until  further  notice.  This  was  done  "  on  account 
of  the  late  discovery  of  treasonable  designs  against  the  Govern- 
ment" and  the  war  with  France.  His  Majesty  "  preferred  that  all 
interchange  of  letters  with  France  should  cease."  7 

1  48  Geo.  Ill,  c.  116.  2  5  Geo.  IV,  c.  10. 

3  6  Geo.  IV,  c.  44-  4  55  Geo.  Ill,  c.  153- 

5  Letters  were  sent  to  the  colonies  by  private  vessels.  The  method  used  for  sending 
letters  to  America  was  as  follows.  Masters  of  vessels  bound  for  America  used  to  hang 
up  a  bag  in  the  coffee-houses,  in  which  letters  were  placed.  A  fee  of  one  penny  was 
charged  for  a  single  letter  and  2d.  for  a  double  letter  or  parcel  in  excess  of  a  single 
letter  (Cal.  T.  P.,  1697-1702,  p.  77). 

6  Thos.  DeLaune,  Present  State  of  London,  1681,  p.  343. 

7  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1689-90,  p.  301. 


SAILING  PACKETS  AND   FOREIGN  CONNECTIONS      121 

In  1744,  the  sailing  packets  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  exclud- 
ing those  employed  in  the  domestic  service,  were  as  follows:  four 
boats  between  Falmouth  and  Lisbon,  four  on  the  Harwich  station, 
six  between  Dover  and  Calais  or  Ostend,  two  between  Gibraltar 
and  Lisbon,  and  two  on  the  Minorca  station.  The  use  of  sailing 
packets  to  Gibraltar  and  Minorca  was  made  necessary  by  the  war. 
From  twenty  to  twenty-six  additional  men  were  added  to  each  of 
the  eighteen  packets  as  a  protection  against  the  enemy,  and  the 
total  additional  yearly  charge  was  £7045.*  This  is  one  of  the  items 
which  made  postal  expenses  run  so  high  in  time  of  war,  to  say  no- 
thing of  the  packets  captured  by  the  enemy.  The  three  boats 
between  Dover  and  Calais  were  sent  to  Harwich,  Helvoetsluys,  and 
Ostend  for  the  time  being.2 

The  practice  of  the  Post  Office  until  1821  had  been  to  contract 
for  the  supply  of  packet  boats,  paying  only  a  nominal  sum  for  their 
hire  and  allowing  the  contractors  to  have  the  receipts  from  passen- 
gers. In  1818  a  private  company  established  steamboats  between 
Holyhead  and  Dublin,  and  the  public  preferred  these  to  the  sailing 
packets.  The  number  of  passengers  by  the  government  packets 
fell  off  nearly  one  half.  Something  had  to  be  done  at  once,  for,  as 
the  receipts  from  fares  decreased,  the  contractors  clamoured  for 
higher  pay.  The  steamboat  company  offered  to  carry  the  mails  for 
£4  a  trip  and  later  for  nothing,  but  the  Post  Office  determined  to 
have  steam  packets  of  its  own.3  Two,  built  by  Boulton  and  Watt, 
under  the  inspection  of  the  Navy  Board,  were  placed  on  the  Holy- 
head  station  in  1821,  and  these,  as  well  as  those  introduced  later  on 
the  other  stations,  were  the  property  of  the  Crown.4 

The  fares  by  the  steam  packets  at  Holyhead  were  fixed  at  the 
same  rates  as  those  charged  by  the  company's  boats  and  these 
fares  were  somewhat  higher  than  those  formerly  charged  by  the 
sailing  packets.  For  instance,  the  fee  for  a  cabin  passenger  had 
been  one  guinea,  for  a  horse  one  guinea,  and  for  a  coach  three 
guineas.  These  were  now  raised  to  £i  5$.,  £i  ios.,  and  £3  5$.  re- 
spectively. The  new  rates,  which  were  so  fixed  in  order  not  to 
expose  the  company  to  undue  competition,  had  not  been  long 

1  Cal.  T.  B.  and  P.,  1742-45,  p.  518.          2  Ibid.,  1742-45,  p.  523. 

1  Rep.  Commrs.,  1830,  xiv,  p.  7.  4  Parl.  Papers,  1822,  vi,  417,  pp.  117  £. 


122   THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

enforced  before  the  Select  Committee  on  Irish  Communications 
reported  against  them,  and  the  Post  Office  reduced  them  to  the  old 
figures.1 

In  1822  steam  packets  were  placed  on  the  Dover  station,  in  1824 
they  were  introduced  at  Milford,  in  1826  at  Liverpool  and  Port- 
patrick,  and  in  1827  at  Weymouth.2  At  Liverpool  also  a  private 
company  had  offered  to  carry  the  mails  but  the  offer  was  refused. 
This  refusal,  as  well  as  the  refusal  to  accept  the  Holyhead  Com- 
pany's offer,  was  condemned  in  a  report  of  the  Commissioners.3 
The  new  Liverpool  packets  ran  from  Liverpool  to  Kingstown,  the 
Holyhead  packets  from  Holyhead  to  Kingstown  and  Howth.4  In 
1828  the  steam  packets  owned  by  the  Crown  numbered  eighteen. 
They  were  distributed  as  follows:  four  at  Liverpool,  two  of  300, 
one  of  301  and  one  of  327  tons,  all  of  140  horse  power;  six  at  Holy- 
head,  varying  from  230  to  237  tons,  all  of  80  horse  power;  four  at 
Milford,  varying  from  189  to  237  tons,  all  of  80  horse  power;  two 
at  Portpatrick  of  130  tons  and  40  horse  power;  and  two  at  Dover  of 
no  tons  and  50  horse  power.5  Two  years  later,  three  steam 
packets  were  added  to  the  Weymouth  station.6  In  1836,  the  Post 
Office  had  in  use  twenty-six  steam  packets,  one  having  been  added 
at  Liverpool,  three  at  Dover,  and  an  extra  one  was  kept  for  contin- 
gencies.7 

With  the  exception  of  the  Dover  service  for  a  few  years,  the 
steam  packets  were  always  a  financial  loss  to  the  Post  Office.  The 
total  disbursements  for  the  Holyhead,  Liverpool,  Milford,  and 
Portpatrick  stations  from  1821  to  1829  were  £681,648,  the  receipts 
for  the  same  period  being  only  £2  50,999. 8  From  1832  to  1837  the 
disbursements  for  all  the  steam  packets  were  £396,669,  receipts 
£180,167. 9  The  Milford  boats  were  the  least  productive  of  any. 
From  1824  to  1836,  the  expenditure  for  that  station  was  £220,986, 

1  Joyce,  pp.  384-85.    In  a  debate  in  the  House  on  the  Holyhead  rates,  Parnell 
said  that  they  limited  the  use  of  the  steamboats  to  the  rich  (Part.  Deb.,  3d  ser.,  x, 
coll.  684-85). 

2  Ace.  6*  P.,  1834,  xlix,  pp.  i,  156.       *  Rep.  Commrs.,  1830,  pp.  22,  36,  40. 

4  Ace.  6r  P.,  1826-27,  xx,  p.  6.  5  Rep.  Commrs.,  1830,  xiv,  app.,  no.  78. 

6  Ibid.,  1830,  xiv,  p.  72.  7  Ibid.,  1836,  xxviii,  6th  rep.,  app.,  p.  28. 

8  Ace.  &•  P.,  1834,  xlix,  p.  i;  Rep.  Commrs.,  1831-32,  xvii,  pp.  358-60. 

9  Ace.  &•  P.,  xlvi,  281. 


SAILING  PACKETS  AND   FOREIGN  CONNECTIONS      123 

the  receipts  only  £26,592.  The  Commissioners  had  pointed  out 
that  not  only  was  the  practice  of  building  and  owning  its  own  boats 
a  mistake  on  the  part  of  the  Post  Office,  but  they  were  very  badly 
managed.  For  example,  the  stores  for  the  Holyhead  station  were 
obtained  from  the  postmaster  at  Liverpool,  who  invariably 
charged  too  much  for  them.1  At  Portpatrick  the  goods  were  sup- 
plied and  the  accounts  checked  in  a  very  irregular  manner.2  At 
Dover  the  supplies  were  ordered  by  the  mates,  engineers,  etc.,  as 
they  were  needed  and  the  bills  paid  by  the  Post  Office.  There  was 
no  control  over  these  officers,  the  accounts  were  not  examined,  and 
the  bills  were  not  certified  by  the  commanders.  There  was  no  proof 
that  the  goods  were  even  delivered.  The  agent,  who  forwarded  the 
bills,  was  not  a  seaman  nor  had  he  any  knowledge  of  ships'  stores.3 
At  Wey mouth,  where  there  were  three  steam  packets  for  Jersey  and 
Guernsey,  conditions  were  better.  The  agent  was  a  practical  sea- 
man, the  demands  for  supplies  were  examined  by  him  before  being 
granted,  and  were  signed  by  him,  by  the  commander,  and  by  the 
engineers  or  whoever  needed  them.  The  Commissioners  also  pro- 
tested against  sending  the  Weymouth  boats  so  far  for  repairs  as 
Holyhead,  which  was  the  regular  repair  station  of  the  Post  Office. 
Apart  from  the  steam  packets  stationed  at  Holyhead,  Liverpool, 
Milford,  Portpatrick,  Weymouth,  and  Dover,  all  the  other  packets 
employed  by  the  Post  Office  were  hired  permanently  or  temporar- 
ily.4 

The  Post  Office  was  at  no  time  entirely  dependent  upon  its  reg- 
ular sailing  packets  for  the  carriage  of  the  mails.  The  merchant 
marine  of  England  had  been  increasing  with  her  growing  commerce, 
and  provision  was  made  in  the  acts  of  1657  and  1660  for  the  car- 
riages of  letters  by  private  vessels.  By  the  latter  of  these  acts  the 
conveyance  of  letters  to  foreign  countries  had  been  restricted  to 
English  ships  under  a  penalty  of  £100  for  every  offence.  It  was 
decided  in  1671,  on  the  occasion  of  the  wreck  of  one  of  the  regular 
Irish  packets,  that  it  would  be  better  to  use  a  Dutch-built  ship 
on  account  of  its  being  much  more  seaworthy  in  the  choppy  swell 
of  the  Irish  sea.  Accordingly  an  order-in-council  was  issued,  allow- 

1  Rep.  Commrs.,  1836,  xxviii,  pp.  14-16.         2  Ibid.,  1836,  xxviii,  6th  rep.,  p.  18. 
'  Ibid.,  1836,  xxviii,  6th  rep.,  p.  6.  *  Ibid.,  1836,  xxviii,  6th  rep.,  p.  8. 


124      THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

ing  a  vessel  built  in  Holland  to  be  used,  and  providing  for  its 
naturalization.1  By  the  act  of  1660,  letters  arriving  in  private 
vessels  were  to  be  given  to  the  postmaster  at  the  port  of  arrival 
so  that  they  might  be  forwarded  to  London  to  be  despatched  to 
their  destination  after  being  charged  with  the  postage  due.  Mas- 
ters of  vessels  were  offered  no  inducement  to  deliver  the  letters  to 
the  postmaster  nor  was  any  liability  incurred  by  neglecting  to  do 
so.  The  post  farmers,  however,  agreed  to  pay  a  penny  for  every 
letter  delivered  by  a  captain  on  his  arrival.  This  was  the  origin  of 
ship  letter  money.2 

No  attempt  had  ever  been  made  to  collect  postage  on  letters 
conveyed  by  private  ships  except  for  the  distance  which  such  let- 
ters might  be  carried  by  the  regular  posts  within  the  kingdom.3  In 
1799  an  act  was  passed  under  the  following  title:  "An  Act  for  the 
more  sure  conveyance  of  ship  letters  and  for  granting  to  His  Ma- 
jesty certain  rates  of  postage  thereon."  The  Postmasters-General 
were  given  authority  by  this  act  to  forward  letters  and  packages  by 
other  vessels  than  the  sailing  packets.  On  letters  brought  in  by 
such  vessels,  4^.  was  to  be  charged  for  a  single  letter  and  so  in  pro- 
portion. This  was  to  be  in  addition  to  the  inland  postage  and  2 d. 
was  to  be  paid  to  the  master  for  every  letter  handed  over  by  him  to 
the  Post  Office.  The  net  revenue  so  arising  was  to  be  paid  into  the 
Exchequer.  No  postage  was  charged  on  letters  carried  out  of  the 
kingdom  by  private  vessels 4  until  1832,  when  permission  was  given 
to  charge  packet  rates.  It  was  forbidden  to  send  letters  by  these 
ships  except  through  the  Post  Office  unless  such  letters  concerned 
only  the  goods  on  board.5  In  1835  that  part  of  the  act  of  1711  for- 
bidding letters  to  be  sent  out  of  the  kingdom  except  in  British  ships 
was  repealed.6 

The  sailing  packets  were  ordinarily  allowed  to  carry  passengers 
and  freight,  for  which  fixed  rates  were  charged.  In  case  of  trouble 

1  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1671,  p.  203.  In  1793,  owing  to  a  scarcity  of  English  vessels  and  as 
a  war  measure,  permission  was  given  to  send  English  letters  to  Spain  and  Portugal  by 
means  of  Spanish  ships  (33  Geo.  Ill,  c.  60). 

2  Joyce,  p.  73- 

3  It  is  true  that  by  the  act  of  1711,  a  penny  was  to  be  charged  for  every  ship  let- 
ter; but  this  was  to  go  to  the  master  of  the  ship. 

«  39  Geo.  Ill,  c.  76.  5  2  Win.  IV,  c.  15.  8  5  and  6  Wm.  IV,  c.  25. 


SAILING  PACKETS  AND   FOREIGN  CONNECTIONS      125 

with  any  foreign  power,  the  masters  were  generally  forbidden  to 
allow  their  packets  to  be  used  as  passenger  boats.1  During  King 
William's  war,  the  Harwich-Helvoetsluys  packets  carried  recruits 
free  to  the  scene  of  activities.2  They  had  also  been  guilty  of 
bringing  dutiable  goods  into  the  country  and  paying  no  duty  on 
them.  This  made  the  customs  officials  indignant,  especially  as  the 
Post  Office  authorities  would  not  allow  them  to  search  the  packets 
on  their  arrival.  By  an  act  passed  in  1662,  no  ship,  vessel,  or  boat 
ordinarily  employed  for  the  carriage  of  letters  was  allowed  to 
import  or  export  any  goods,  unless  permission  had  been  given  by 
the  customs  officials,  under  a  penalty  of  £100  to  be  paid  by  the 
master  of  the  offending  packet  boat.3  It  had  been  agreed  between 
Dummer  and  the  Post  Office  that  he  should  carry  no  more  than 
five  tons  of  merchandise  outward  bound  nor  more  than  ten  tons 
when  homeward  bound.  The  Commissioners  of  the  Customs  in 
1708  advised  the  Lord  High  Treasurer  that  if  he  gave  licences  to 
the  packet  boats  to  carry  goods  4  it  would  be  necessary  to  comply 
with  the  law  and  subject  the  boats  to  searchers,  rules,  and  penal- 
ties as  the  merchantmen  were.  They  proposed  that  the  agreement 
made  with  Dummer  be  applied  to  all  the  packets.  They  pointed  out 
that  if  this  were  done,  all  friction  between  the  customs  and  Post 
Office  might  be  avoided.5  In  1732,  the  difficulty  assumed  a  new 
form  over  the  question  as  to  the  carriage  of  dutiable  goods  by  mail. 
Diamonds  had  recently  been  discovered  in  Brazil  and  they  were 
exported  to  England  via  Spain.  It  had  also  become  customary  to 
send  fine  laces  by  post.  We,  who  have  become  used  to  intoler- 
ant customs'  regulations,  can  hardly  appreciate  the  indignation 
aroused  by  the  desire  of  the  customs'  authorities  to  search  the 
mails.  It  was  the  rule  at  that  time  for  the  Controller  of  the  Foreign 
Office  to  lay  a  tax  of  i  per  cent  upon  packages  which  he  thought 
had  lace  or  diamonds  in  them.  The  customs  officials  seized  twenty- 

1  Cal.  S.  P.  ZX,  1650,  p.  540.  z  Ibid.,  1691-92,  pp.  29,  137. 

8  13  and  14  Chas.  II,  c.  n. 

4  Goods  were  not  supposed  to  be  carried  unless  such  a  licence  had  been  obtained. 
Some  Jews,  coming  from  Calais  on  the  packet  boat,  had  brought  a  few  spectacles  with 
them,  on  the  sale  of  which  they  said  that  their  support  depended.  The  spectacles 
were  confiscated  (Cal.  T.  B.  and  P.,  1739-41,  p.  61). 

6  Cal.  T.  P.,  1708-14,  p.  74. 


126       THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

one  parcels  of  diamonds  in  a  mail  bag,  coming  from  Lisbon  in  the 
packet  Hanover.  The  Postmasters- General  were  very  indignant 
and  wrote  to  the  Treasury  that  they  "  would  not  have  it  left  to 
a  customs'  house  officer  to  break  open  the  King's  mail,  which  has 
never  been  done  before."  1  Evidently  the  customs  officials  had 
exceeded  their  authority  and  the  matter  was  compromised  by  the 
appointment  of  a  sub-controller  of  the  Foreign  Post  Office  to  act 
under  the  authority  of  the  Customs  Commissioners  and  receive  the 
duties  on  diamonds  and  other  jewels  and  precious  stones  imported 
in  the  packet  boats.2  In  a  report  of  the  Postmasters- General  some- 
what earlier,  we  are  informed  of  a  payment  of  £1087  made  by  them 
to  the  Receiver- General  of  the  Customs.  This  amount  covered 
four  fifths  of  the  gross  duty  on  diamonds  and  laces,  which  had 
come  by  the  sailing  packets  during  four  years,  one  fifth  having 
been  deducted  for  postage.3 

By  a  section  of  the  act  of  1784,  letters  or  packages  from  abroad 
suspected  of  containing  dutiable  articles  were  to  be  taken  by  the 
postmaster  to  a  Justice  of  the  Peace.  He  was  to  take  an  oath  that 
he  suspected  that  dutiable  goods  were  contained  in  the  letter  or 
packet.  In  the  presence  of  the  justice  he  was  then  to  cut  a  slit  two 
inches  long  in  the  parcel  to  permit  examination  of  the  contents.  If 
his  suspicions  seemed  to  be  confirmed  he  might  slit  the  cover 
entirely  open  and  if  anything  dutiable  were  found  it  must  be  de- 
stroyed. The  letter  was  then  forwarded  to  the  Commissioner  of 
the  Customs  in  order  that  proceedings  might  be  taken  against 
those  implicated.  If  nothing  was  found,  the  letter  was  to  be  sent  to 
the  person  to  whom  it  was  addressed,  under  the  magistrate's  cover, 
with  no  extra  charge  for  postage.4 

In  one  respect,  the  packet  stations  in  England  were  conducted 
on  divergent  principles.  The  supplies  for  the  Harwich  packets  were 
advanced  directly  by  the  Government  through  the  Postmaster- 
General.  When  the  War  of  the  Austrian  Succession  broke  out,  a 
treasury  warrant  was  issued  for  the  supply  of  military  stores  and 
eight  additional  men  for  each  of  the  Harwich  boats.5  At  Falmouth, 

1  Cal  T.  B.  &  P.,  1731-34,  P.  223.  2  Ibid.,  i73i~34,  P-  242. 

»  Ibid.,  1731-34,  P-  234.  «  24  Geo.  Ill,  session  2,  c.  37. 

.6  Cal.  r.JB.firP.,  1742-45,  P-  55- 


SAILING  PACKETS  AND  FOREIGN  CONNECTIONS      127 

the  agent  supplied  all  necessaries.  Neither  plan  was  entirely  free 
from  objection.  When  the  agent  acted  as  victualler  he  naturally 
tried  to  make  as  much  as  possible  out  of  his  contract,  and  there 
were  frequent  complaints  from  the  men  on  the  Falmouth  boats 
concerning  the  quality  and  quantity  of  the  food.  At  Harwich,  the 
drawbacks  of  the  other  method,  under  which  the  Post  Office  did  its 
own  victualling,  were  quite  as  marked.  No  bill  for  provisions  re- 
presented what  they  had  actually  cost.  A  percentage  was  habitu- 
ally added  to  the  actual  cost  and  this  percentage  went  into  the 
pockets  of  those  by  whom  the  goods  had  been  ordered.1 

The  postal  abuses  which  came  to  light  in  1787  were  more  flagrant 
in  connection  with  the  packet  service  than  in  any  other  department 
of  the  Post  Office.  The  Secretary  himself  was  not  only  a  large  owner 
in  the  boats,  but  as  agent  he  received  2  y2  per  cent  of  the  gross  total 
expenditure.  From  1770  to  1787,  this  had  amounted  to  £1,038,133, 
from  which  he  had  received  over  £25,000.  Besides  this,  his  salary 
amounted  to  £1000  a  year  and  there  was  an  annuity  of  £100  at- 
tached to  his  office.  He  had  become  too  old  to  perform  his  duties, 
but  instead  of  being  superannuated  another  person  was  appointed 
to  assist  him.2 

The  Sailors'  Pension  Fund  was  grossly  mismanaged.  Each  sail- 
or's monthly  contribution  had  been  raised  from  lod.  to  2S.  and 
then  35.  After  twenty  years'  service,  the  man  who  had  kept  up  his 
payments  was  entitled  to  receive  £4  or  £5  a  year.  The  names  of 
dead  people  were  retained  on  the  list  of  pensioners,  fictitious  names 
were  added,  and  there  seems  no  doubt  that  the  agent  retained  the 
money  ostensibly  paid  out  in  their  names.3  The  agent  at  Falmouth 
had  a  salary  of  £230  a  year  and  £160  in  perquisites,  £100  of  which 
were  paid  to  the  former  agent's  widow.  The  late  agent  had  re- 
ceived £430  a  year  in  perquisites  in  addition  to  the  regular  £390 
less  £40  for  a  clerk  and  an  assistant  postmaster,  making  £780  in 
all,  certainly  a  comfortable  salary  for  a  packet  agent  at  that  time. 
The  £430  was  made  up  by  an  involuntary  contribution  of  five 
guineas  from  each  of  the  captains  of  the  twenty-two  packet  boats 
and  the  wages  of  one  man  from  each  boat.  The  latter  sum  was  ob- 
tained by  dismissing  the  men,  whose  wages  still  continued  to  be 

1  Joyce,  pp.  95  f.'        2  Fin.  Rep.,  1797.  no.  7,  p.  5.        »  Jo.  H.  C.,  1787,  p.  116. 


128  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

paid  —  to  the  agent.  Smuggling  had  become  by  no  means  uncom- 
mon among  the  Falmouth  boats,  the  carriage  of  the  mails  being 
considered  of  secondary  importance.  They  often  arrived  when 
least  expected,  or  they  might  not  arrive  for  days  at  a  time,  al- 
though the  wind  and  weather  were  favourable,1 

Fares  for  passengers  were  not  always  collected,  but  a  moderate 
payment  to  the  captains  would  ensure  a  passage  as  they  were  al- 
lowed to  carry  their  friends  free  and  the  payment  readily  secured 
the  privilege  desired.  The  agents  also  profited  by  the  sale  of  passes.2 
There  were  more  boats  on  the  Falmouth  station  than  necessary, 
and,  although  they  ranged  in  size  from  150  to  300  tons,  the  same 
number  of  men  were  employed  on  each.  The  Secretary  of  the  Post 
Office,  from  whose  report  these  facts  about  the  packets  are  de- 
rived, proposed  that  three  or  four  of  the  boats  should  be  taken 
off,  thus  effecting  a  saving  of  £6000  or  £8000.  In  case  it  should  be 
considered  expedient  to  employ  regular  packet  boats  to  Quebec 
and  Halifax,  N.  S.,  they  might  be  placed  on  those  stations.  No  de- 
ductions were  made  for  the  hire  of  boats  when  they  were  unem- 
ployed, either  when  being  repaired  or  when  under  seizure  for  smug- 
gling.3 

The  result  of  these  exposures  was  a  series  of  reforms  started  in 
1793.  By  1797  the  Post  Office  was  able  to  report  that  orders  had 
been  issued  forbidding  any  official  to  own  a  sailing  packet  or  have 
a  share  in  any  of  them.  Orders  were  given  to  pay  the  sailors  regu- 
larly throughout  the  whole  year.  The  2  J^  per  cent  on  all  expendi- 
ture, formerly  paid  to  the  Secretary,  was  abolished.  Finally  all 
salaries  were  henceforth  to  be  in  lieu  of  every  emolument.4 

In  1793,  the  expenses  for  packet  boats  amounted  to  £45,666  a 
year.  This  was  reduced  in  the  following  year  to  £36,940,  but  from 
1795  expenses  began  to  increase,  owing  to  losses  during  the  war  and 
the  necessity  for  placing  the  boats  on  a  war  footing.5  In  time  of 

1  Jo.  H.  C.,  1787,  PP.  815-16. 

2  Ibid.,  1787,  pp.  815-16.  Anthony  Todd,  Secretary  of  the  Post  Office,  writing  to 
Charles  Cox  in  Harwich  said  that  "several  persons  going  from  Helvoetsluys  to  Har- 
wich, who  are  well  able  to  pay  full  fare,  have  given  money  for  half,  free  and  poor 
passes,  and  larger  sums  have  been  taken  for  passes  than  are  allowed  by  the  Post- 
master-General "  (Jo.  H.  C.,  1787,  p.  805).  s  Ibid.,  1787,  p.  205. 

4  Fin.  Rep.,  1797,  no.  7,  pp.  52-65.  6  Ibid.,  no.  7,  p.  131. 


SAILING  PACKETS  AND  FOREIGN  CONNECTIONS 

peace,  a  Falmouth  packet  of  179  tons  carried  twenty-one  men,  in- 
cluding officers,  at  a  total  expenditure  for  men,  interest,  insurance, 
and  wear  and  tear,  of  £i68i.1  In  time  of  war,  she  carried  twenty- 
eight  men,  all  of  whom  were  paid  higher  wages,  and  other  expenses 
were  also  higher,  bringing  the  total  expenses  for  each  packet  to 
£2112  a  year.2  For  a  packet  of  seventy  tons  the  expenses  during 
peace  and  war  were  respectively  £536  and  £862. 3  It  is  not  surpris- 
ing then  that  the  cost  for  all  the  packet  boats  had  risen  in  1796  to 
£77,599.  The  Falmouth  boats  were  responsible  for  £60,444  of  this, 
the  rest  being  divided  amongst  the  Dover,  Harwich,  Donaghadee, 
Milford,  Weymouth,  and  Holyhead  packets  and  the  West  India 
schooners.4  The  salaries  paid  to  the  agents  in  1796  amounted  to 
£3412.  They  were  stationed  at  Lisbon,  Falmouth,  Yarmouth  (in- 
stead of  Harwich  and  Dover),  Weymouth,  Jamaica,  Halifax,  N.  S., 
and  Quebec.  In  Lisbon  and  the  colonial  towns,  the  agents  acted 
also  as  postmasters.5 

In  1827,  all  the  packets  sailing  out  of  Falmouth  were  transferred 
to  the  Admiralty,  in  spite  of  Freeling's  protest.  The  question  had 
been  discussed  again  and  again  during  the  war  with  France  but 
why  it  was  decided  upon  at  this  particular  time  is  not  clear.  At  the 
time  of  transfer,  thirty  packets  were  employed  at  Falmouth,  carry- 
ing mails  to  and  from  Lisbon,  Brazil,  Buenos  Ayres,  the  Mediterra- 
nean, America,  the  Leeward  Isles,  Jamaica,  Colombia,  and  Mexico. 
In  1828,  the  number  of  packets  at  Falmouth  had  increased  to 
thirty-eight  brigs  of  war  and  sailing  vessels  and  in  1833  to  forty- 
one.6 

The  Admiralty  had  exceedingly  bad  luck  with  the  Falmouth 
boats  for  the  first  seven  years.  During  that  time  seven  of  them  were 
lost;  four  were  wrecked,  one  was  supposed  to  have  been  burned, 
one  was  smashed  to  pieces  by  icebergs,  and  one  was  captured  by 
pirates  off  Rio  Janeiro.7 

In  1837,  the  charge  of  all  the  packets  and  the  powers  and  authori- 

1  Fin,  Rep.,  no.  7,  p.  119.       2  Ibid.,  no.  7,  p.  118.        3  Ibid.,  no.  7,  pp.  122-23. 
4  Ibid.,  no.  7,  p.  117.  6  Ibid.,  no.  7,  p.  116. 

6  Rep.  Commrs.,  1830,  xiv,  app.,  no.  78;  Ace.  6*  P.,  1834,  xlix,  p.  3;  Joyce,  pp.  398- 
99. 

7  Ace.  6*P.,  1834,  xlix,  p.  49.  Three  of  the  boats  wrecked  were  on  their  way  to  or 
from  Halifax,  N.  S. 


130     THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

ties  then  existing  in  the  Postmaster- General  under  any  contract 
for  the  conveyance  of  mails  were  transferred  to  the  Admiralty  by 
act  of  Parliament.1  The  Post  Office  was  still  to  retain  the  discre- 
tionary power  of  regulating  the  time  of  departure  of  the  packets  and 
of  receiving  the  reports  of  the  agents  when  the  mail  was  delayed.2 
In  the  same  year,  but  by  a  later  act,  the  Postmaster-General  was 
authorized  to  contract  for  the  conveyance  of  letters  by  private 
ships  between  any  places  whatever,  but  such  ships  must  be  British. 
The  rates  were  to  be  the  same  as  the  packet  rates,  but  the  owners, 
charterers,  and  consignees  of  vessels  inward  bound  were  allowed  to 
receive  letters  free  to  the  weight  of  six  ounces,  or  twenty  ounces  in 
the  case  of  vessels  coming  from  Ceylon,  the  East  Indies,  and  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope.3  For  every  letter  retained  by  the  captain  or 
any  other  person  there  was  a  penalty  of  £10.  The  captain  was  also 
liable  to  a  penalty  for  refusing  to  take  the  letter  bags,  even  when  no 
contract  had  been  signed.4 

The  control  of  the  packets  by  the  Admiralty  after  1837  failed  to 
produce  the  results  anticipated.  The  power  of  authorizing  contracts 
for  the  conveyance  of  the  mails  by  water  was  actually  vested  in 
the  Lords  of  the  Treasury  upon  consultation  with  the  Postmaster- 
General,  the  Colonial  Secretary,  and  the  Lords  of  the  Admiralty 
with  reference  to  the  postal,  colonial,  or  nautical  questions  involved, 
but  as  a  matter  of  fact  these  officials  did  not  always  work  in  har- 
mony. The  mails  continued  to  be  carried  by  private  vessels  or  war 
vessels  not  under  contract,  by  packets  belonging  to  the  Crown,  and 
by  vessels  under  contract.  Before  the  use  of  steam  vessels  the 
Government  was  able  as  a  rule  to  make  contracts  for  a  short  period 
and  at  comparatively  little  cost.  Between  England  and  the  neigh- 
bouring countries  (Ireland,  France,  and  Belgium),  government 
steam  packets  were  employed.  For  the  longer  voyages  it  was  con- 
sidered advisable  to  induce  commercial  companies  to  build  steam 
vessels  by  offering  large  subsidies  for  long  periods.  In  1853,  a  Par- 
liamentary Committee  reported  in  condemnation  of  the  further 
use  of  government-owned  packets  on  account  of  their  expense  and 
also  of  the  payments  to  the  owners  of  contract  vessels  in  excess 

1  7  Wm.  IV  and  i  Viet.,  c.  3.          2  Ace.  &•  P.,  1837-38,  xlv,  pp.  i,  2. 
8  7  Wm.  IV  and  i  Viet.,  c.  34.         «  7  Wm.  IV  and  i  Viet.,  c.  36. 


SAILING  PACKETS  AND  FOREIGN  CONNECTIONS      131 

of  the  actual  cost  of  mail  carriage.  They  pointed  out,  however, 
that  exceptions  might  very  well  be  made  when  for  political  or  so- 
cial reasons  it  seemed  necessary  to  carry  mails  to  places  where  com- 
mercial vessels  did  not  go,  or  went  very  irregularly,  or  where  high 
speed  was  desirable.1  This  report,  in  so  far  as  it  condemned  the  use 
of  government-owned  packets  and  the  excessive  subsidies  paid  to 
contractors,  repeated  the  findings  of  an  earlier  committee  pub- 
lished in  1849,  which  had  in  addition  advised  that  the  rule  should 
be  observed  of  calling  for  tenders  in  the  most  public  way  possible.2 
In  1852,  the  only  service  performed  by  the  government  packets  was 
that  between  Dover,  Calais,  and  Ostend.  On  the  French  service 
the  night  mails  between  Dover  and  Calais  were  conveyed  by  Brit- 
ish packets  and  the  day  mails  by  French.  Between  Dover  and 
Ostend  there  was  a  daily  service,  thrice  a  week  by  British,  four 
times  by  Belgian  packets.  Of  the  six  boats  employed  by  the  Ad- 
miralty, four  were  kept  fully  manned  and  two  were  spare  steamers. 
The  receipts  did  not  equal  the  gross  expenses.3  Again  in  1860,  the 
year  in  which  the  control  of  the  packets  was  transferred  to  the  Post 
Office,  we  find  a  third  Parliamentary  committee  repeating  the  re- 
commendations of  its  predecessors  so  far  as  the  subsidy  question 
was  concerned.  Nothing  was  said  about  the  government  steamers, 
for  in  the  meantime  the  principle  of  packet  ownership  had  been 
abandoned.4 

A  general  review  of  the  packet  services  existing  at  the  middle  of 
the  nineteenth  century  affords  a  very  good  example  of  the  relative 
importance  of  these  different  systems  of  communication  and  of  the 
principles  on  which  the  payment  of  subsidies  was  based.  The  inland 
packet  service  of  the  United  Kingdom  included,  among  others,  the 
lines  between  Holyhead  and  Kingstown,  Liverpool  and  the  Isle 
of  Man,  Aberdeen  and  Lerwick,  Southampton  and  the  Channel 
Isles.  This  formed  a  necessary  part  of  the  inland  postal  service,  and 
no  attempt  was  made  to  meet  expenses  by  levying  a  sea-transit 
postage.  In  the  case  of  the  Isle  of  Man  the  postage  collected  covered 

1  Rep.  Com.,  1860,  xiv;  Ace.  6*  P.,  1852-53,  xcv,  1660,  pp.  1-7. 
t    *  Rep.  Com.,  1849,  x">  P-  iu»  3  Ace.  &•  P.,  1852-53,  xcv,  1660,  p.  37. 

*  Rep.  Com.,  1860,  xiv,  p.  17;  23  Viet.,  c.  46;  Purl.  Deb.,  3d  ser.,  clxi,  col.  830; 
cxciv,  col.  1281;  cxcvii,  col.  1818. 


132      THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

the  cost  of  the  packets  and  of  the  land  establishment  of  the  Post 
Office  in  the  island.  The  expenses  of  the  Shetland  packets  by  them- 
selves exceeded  the  postage  collected,  and  the  Orkney  postal  ex- 
penses were  also  greater  than  the  revenue. 

The  second  class  consisted  of  the  packets  plying  between  Eng- 
land and  the  colonies  or  between  the  colonies  themselves,  and  in- 
cluded the  lines  to  India,  Australia,  the  Cape,  the  West  Indies,  and 
British  North  America.  This  class  was  and  is  by  far  the  most  im- 
portant. Three-fourths  of  the  whole  annual  subsidies  paid  by  the 
Government  for  the  packet  service  were  paid  to  three  great  com- 
panies, the  Peninsular  and  Oriental,  the  Royal  Mail,  and  the  Cu- 
nard  Company.  The  first  of  these  connected  England  with  India 
and  the  Orient,  the  second  with  the  West  Indian  colonies,  and  the 
third  with  the  North  American  Provinces.  The  great  cost  involved 
in  subsidizing  these  companies  was  excused  on  the  ground  of  ab- 
solute necessity  for  a  regular  and  rapid  mail  service  between  the 
mother  country  and  her  colonies.  Of  the  lines  furnishing  communi- 
cations with  foreign  countries,  several  were  connected  with  and  sub- 
sidiary to  the  colonial  service,  as  the  continuation  of  the  Cunard 
line  to  the  United  States.  The  service  to  China  was  the  most 
remunerative  part  of  the  system  undertaken  by  the  Peninsular 
and  Oriental  boats,  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  the  foreign  service 
of  the  Royal  Mail  Company.  From  a  commercial  point  of  view  the 
Continental  packets  were  perhaps  the  most  important  of  all.1 

The  first  contract  with  an  individual  steamship  company  was 
made  in  1840  with  the  famous  Cunard  Company  providing  for 
the  conveyance  of  mails  between  Great  Britain,  the  United  States, 
and  Canada.  In  accordance  with  the  recommendations  of  various 
committees,  attempts  were  made  later  to  place  the  Atlantic  packet 
service  upon  a  firmer  financial  basis  so  far  as  the  loss  to  the  Post 
Office  was  concerned.  In  1868,  the  contract  with  the  Cunard  Com- 
pany, which  had  been  renewed  at  various  times  under  somewhat 
different  conditions,  came  to  an  end.  The  Conservative  Govern- 
ment which  was  just  going  out  arranged  for  two  services  a  week 
with  the  Cunard  Company  for  £70,000,  and  one  a  week  with  the 
Inman  Company  for  £35,000.  There  was  considerable  opposition 
1  Ace.  &•  P.,  1852-53,  xcv,  1660,  pp.  37-43- 


SAILING  PACKETS  AND   FOREIGN  CONNECTIONS      133 

to  the  agreement  among  the  Liberal  majority  of  the  new  Parliament, 
but  it  could  not  of  course  be  repudiated.  This  contract  came  to 
an  end  in  1876,  and  a  circular  was  addressed  to  the  various  steam- 
ship companies  informing  them  that  the  government  would  here- 
after send  the  American  mails  by  the  most  efficient  ships,  payment 
to  be  made  at  the  rate  of  2S.  4^.  a  pound  for  letters  and  2 d.  a  pound 
for  other  mail  matter,  those  being  the  rates  fixed  by  the  Postal 
Union  Treaty  and  adopted  by  the  American  Government.  The 
Inman  and  White  Star  Companies  refused  at  first  to  have  anything 
to  do  with  the  new  system  of  payment,  but  eventually  they  fell  into 
line.  The  system  was  in  operation  for  a  year  at  a  cost  of  £28,000 
in  place  of  the  old  charge  of  £105,000.  The  Cunard,  Inman,  and 
White  Star  Companies  then  demanded  double  the  previous  rates 
on  the  ground  that  they  were  conducting  the  service  at  a  loss,  and 
an  agreement  with  the  Government  was  concluded  for  the  payment 
of  45.  a  pound  for  letters  and  4^.  for  newspapers,  etc.  At  the  same 
time  the  old  monopolistic  conditions  were  virtually  reestablished, 
for  rival  steamship  lines  were  excluded  from  the  agreement.1 

In  1886,  the  agreement  with  the  Cunard,  Inman,  and  White 
Star  Lines  came  to  an  end.  The  Cunard  and  White  Star  Compan- 
ies then  made  an  offer  precluding  the  use  of  the  fast  boats  of  other 
lines,  but  this  was  declined.  Eventually  an  agreement  was  reached 
at  a  reduced  cost,  which  gave  the  Post  Office  the  right  to  send  let- 
ters so  directed  by  any  other  ships  than  those  of  the  White  Star  or 
Cunard  Companies.  The  amounts  to  be  paid  were  measured  by 
the  actual  weight  of  mail  matter  carried.2  The  payments  to  the 
Peninsular  and  Oriental  Company  were  based  at  first  entirely  upon 
mileage  covered,  and  reductions  were  made  if  the  packets  fell  below 
a  minimum  speed  agreed  upon.  This  method  was  later  changed  to 
a  payment  based  upon  the  amount  of  mail  carried,  and  the  subsidy 
was  substantially  reduced.3 

A  general  review  of  the  packet  service  in  1907  shows  us  that 

1  Part.  Deb.,  sd  ser.,  ccxxxviii,  coll.,  1633-36. 

z  3$.  a  Ib.  for  letters;  is.  Sd.  when  carried  by  other  lines  (Rep.  Com.,  1860,  xiv, 
p.S;  1868-69,  vi,  pp.  iii-v;  Rep.  P.  G.,  1887,  pp.  4-5;  Ace.  &  P.,  1887,  xlix,  34,  pp. 
3-4;  Parl.  Deb.,  4th  ser.,  cxxii,  coll.  385-401). 

3  Ace.  6r  P.,  1852-53,  xcv,  1660,  p.  59;  1887,  xlix,  34,  p.  7;  Rep.  P.  G.,  1907,  pp. 
5-6. 


134  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

most  of  the  contracts  for  the  home  packets  are  terminable  on  six 
months'  notice,  a  few  only  on  twelve  months'  notice.  The  Holy- 
head  and  Kingstown  service  is  exceptional,  not  being  terminable 
until  1917,  or  on  twelve  months'  notice  after  3ist  March,  1916. 
This  is  by  far  the  most  important  of  any  of  the  home  systems  and 
costs  £100,000,  to  be  reduced  to  £80,000  in  1917.  The  contract  for 
the  conveyance  of  mails  between  Dover  and  Calais  is  terminable 
on  twelve  months'  notice  and  cost  £25,000  for  the  postal  year 
1906-07.  The  payments  for  the  use  of  the  other  boats  between  the 
United  Kingdom  and  Europe  are  comparatively  small,  amounting 
in  1906-07  to  £3780  only,  and  all  these  contracts  are  terminable  on 
six  months'  notice.  The  contracts  for  the  conveyance  of  the  mails 
to  the  two  Americas  are  as  a  rule  terminable  on  six  or  twelve 
months'  notice,  but  an  exception  has  been  made  in  the  case  of  the 
Cunard  Company  with  whom  and  under  peculiar  circumstances  a 
twenty  years'  agreement  was  made  in  1902.  In  1906-07  the  cost  of 
the  conveyance  of  the  mails  between  the  United  Kingdom  and 
North  and  South  America  was  £198,488.  The  African  contracts 
are  all  terminable  on  three,  six,  or  twelve  months'  notice,  and 
amounted  in  1906-07  to  £32,988.  The  carriage  of  the  mails  to 
India,  Australasia,  and  China  for  the  year  ending  3  ist  March,  1907, 
cost  £402, 162,  but  this  has  since  been  diminished  by  a  reduction 
in  the  subsidies  to  the  Peninsular  and  Oriental  Company  and  the 
Canadian  Pacific  Railway  Company.1 

The  total  expenditure  for  packet  boats  increased  enormously 
after  1840,  and  this  increase  in  cost  kept  down  the  net  revenue  of  the 
Post  Office  for  many  years  after  the  introduction  of  penny  postage. 
In  1830,  the  packet  expenses  amounted  only  to  £108,305,  in  1846,  to 
£723,604,  and  in  1860,  to  £869,952.  They  reached  the  maximum 
point  of  £1,056,798  in  1869,  and  from  that  time  until  1890,  when 
they  were  £665,375,  there  has  been  on  the  whole  a  gradual  diminu- 
tion. During  the  year  ending  3ist  March,  1892,  they  reached  the 
sum  of  £701,081,  for  the  postal  year  1900-01  they  were  £764,804, 
and  during  the  year  1905-06  they  had  diminished  to  £687,109.2 

1  Rep.  P.  G.,  1907,  pp.  5-6,  52-53. 

2  Rep.  Commrs.,  1830,  xiv,  app.,  p.  376;  1847,  kii,  PP-  S~6;  Rep.  P.  G.y  1868,  p.  28; 
1875,  P-  395  IQOI,  app.,  p.  82;  1907,  p.  95. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

RATES  AND  FINANCE 

AFTER  de  Quester  had  been  appointed  Foreign  Postmaster- 
General,  he  published,  in  1626,  an  incomplete  set  of  rates  from  and 
to  various  places  on  the  continent.  His  charges  for  "packets,"  and 
by  packets  he  meant  letters  or  parcels  carried  by  a  special  mes- 
senger, were  as  follows:  — 

To  the  Hague  £7. 

To  Brussels  or  Paris  £10. 

To  Vienna  £60. 
The  ordinary  rates  were :  — 

To  or  from  any  of  the  above  places  305. 

To  or  from  any  part  of  Germany  65. 

From  Venice  for  a  single  letter  gd.1 

From  Venice  for  any  letter  over  a  single  letter  25.  &d. 

From  Leghorn  and  Florence  for  a  single  letter  is. 

From  Leghorn  and  Florence  over  a  single  letter  35.  an  ounce.2 
This  system  of  rates,  although  crude,  marks  a  distinct  era  in  postal 
progress.  It  forms  the  foundation  of  the  plan  which  was  perfected 
a  few  years  later  by  Witherings.  De  Quester  also  published  a  state- 
ment of  the  days  of  departure  of  the  regular  posts  with  foreign  let- 
ters.3 In  the  trial  between  Stanhope  and  de  Quester  over  the  ques- 
tion of  who  should  be  Foreign  Postmaster- General,  it  came  out  in 
the  evidence  that  Stanhope  had  been  accustomed  to  receive  Bd.  for 
every  letter  to  Hamburg,  Amsterdam,  and  Antwerp.4  This  charge 
was  rather  in  the  nature  of  a  perquisite  than  a  legal  rate  and  serves 
partly  to  explain  why  Stanhope  was  so  anxious  to  retain  the  monop- 
oly of  the  foreign  post. 

1  The  rate  from  Venice  had  been  i6d.    By  a  single  letter  is  meant  one  piece  of 
paper. 

2  Cat.  S.  P.  D.,  1625-26,  p.  523.  3  Ibid.,  1628-29,  p.  538. 
4  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  xiv,  app.,  p.  48  (25). 


136     THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

Witherings'  rates  for  domestic  postage,  as  fixed  by  Royal  Procla- 
mation in  1635,  were  as  follows  for  a  single  letter:  — 

d. 

Under  80  miles  2 

Between  80  and  140  miles  4 

Over  140  miles  6 

On  the  Borders  and  in  Scotland  8 

In  Ireland  9 

If  there  were  more  than  one  sheet  of  paper,  postage  must  be  paid 
according  to  the  above  rate  for  every  separate  sheet  or  enclosure. 
For  instance,  a  letter  or  packet  composed  of  two  sheets  was  called 
a  double  letter  and  paid  4^.  for  any  distance  under  80  miles.  A 
letter  of  three  sheets  was  called  a  triple  letter  and  paid  6d.  if  con- 
veyed under  80  miles,  and  so  in  proportion.1  In  1638,  the  rules  con- 
cerning the  imposition  of  rates  were  changed  slightly.  The  rates 
themselves  remained  the  same  for  single  and  double  letters.  Let- 
ters above  double  letters  were  to  be  charged  according  to  weight 
as  follows:  — 

Under  80  miles  6d.  an  ounce. 

From  80  to  140  miles  gd. 

Above  140  miles  i2d. 

For  Ireland  6d.  if  over  two  ounces.2 

This  expedient  must  have  been  adopted  from  the  difficulty  in  dis- 
covering the  number  of  enclosures  when  there  were  more  than 
two.  It  is  impossible  to  say  how  long  these  rates  continued,  prob- 
ably not  later  than  Witherings'  regime.  During  Prideaux'  manage- 
ment the  maximum  postage  on  a  single  letter  was  6d.,  reduced 
later  to  3<Z.3 

The  Council  of  State  gave  orders  in  1652  for  the  imposition  of 
the  following  rates  for  a  single  letter: — 

d. 

Within  100  miles  from  London  2 

To  remoter  parts  of  England  and  Wales        3 
To  Scotland  4 

To  Ireland  6  4 

1  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  xiv,  app.,  p.  57  (36).      2  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  xiv,  app.,  p.  58  (37). 
*  Joyce,  p.  29.  *  Col.  S.  P.  D.,  1651-52,  p.  507. 


RATES  AND  FINANCE  137 

Whether  these  rates  were  actually  collected  is  questionable.  The 
postage  which  the  farmers  of  the  Posts  were  allowed  to  collect  in 
the  following  year  was  fixed  by  the  Council  of  State  for  single  let- 
ters as  follows:  — 

d. 

Under  80  miles  from  London  2 

Above  80  miles  from  London  3 

To  Scotland  4 

To  Ireland  6 

These  rates  are  in  effect  lower  than  those  of  Witherings,  for  he  had 
inserted  a  $d.  rate  for  letters  delivered  between  80  and  140  miles 
from  London,  had  charged  4^.  for  all  letters  going  farther  than 
140  miles,  and  had  charged  Sd.  and  gd.  for  letters  to  Scotland 
and  Ireland  respectively.  They  were  a  little  higher  than  those  of 
1652,  for  by  them  2d.  had  carried  a  letter  100  miles.1 

In  1657,  the  first  act  of  Parliament  was  passed,  fixing  rates  for 
letters  and  establishing  the  system  for  England,  Ireland,  and  Scot- 
land. The  domestic  rates  were:  — 

For  a        Double          Per 
single  letter     letter  ounce 

T    F     1     d  I  Within  80  miles  from  London      2d.          4d.          Sd. 

(  Above  80  miles  from  London      3  6  12 

To  or  from  Scotland  4  8  18 

To  or  from  Ireland  6  12  24 

T    T    i     A    i  Within  40  miles  from  Dublin       248 

(  Above  40  miles  from  Dublin       4  8  12 

The  foreign  rates  were:  — 

For  a  Double  Per 

single  letter  letter  ounce 

To  Leghorn,  Genoa,  Florence,  Lyons,  Mar- 
seilles, Aleppo,  Constantinople  i2d.  24 d.  45^. 

To  St.  Malo,  Morlaix,  Nieuhaven  6  12  18 

To  Bordeaux,  Rochelle,  Nantes,  Bayonne, 

Cadiz,  Madrid  9  18  24 

To  Hamburg,  Frankfort,  and  Cologne  8  16  24 

To  Dantzic,  Leipsic,  Lubeck,  Stockholm, 

Copenhagen,  Elsinore,  Konigsburg  12  24  48 2 

\    J  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1652-53,  p.  449- 

2  Scobell,  Collect.,  pt.  ii,  pp.  511-13-  Inland  letters  containing  more  than  two  en- 
closures but  weighing  less  than  an  ounce  were  charged  according  to  the  number  of 
enclosures. 


138   THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

These  rates  are  considerably  lower  than  those  of  Witherings  and 
are  essentially  the  same  as  those  of  1653,  except  that  the  postage 
is  fixed  for  letters  to  and  from  the  continent.  No  provision  is  made 
for  letters  to  and  from  any  other  part  of  the  world  but  Europe.  Since 
the  government  had  not  established  any  postal  communication 
with  Asia,  Africa,  or  the  Americas,  it  would  have  been  unfair  to 
demand  postage  on  letters  conveyed  by  merchant  vessels  to  and 
from  those  places.1 

The  act  of  1660  is  generally  referred  to  as  bringing  the  Post 
Office  under  Parliamentary  control  and  as  the  basis  of  the  modern 
system.  This  is  probably  due  to  the  fact  that  the  act  of  1657  was 
passed  by  a  Commonwealth  Parliament  and  signed  by  Cromwell. 
Whether  its  authors  lacked  the  power  to  give  it  validity,  they  did 
not  lack  the  brains  to  pass  an  excellent  act,  and  although  the  Royal- 
ists saw  fit,  after  the  Restoration,  to  dub  it  the  pretended  act  of 
1657,  they  could  not  improve  it  and  had  the  sense  to  leave  it  largely 
untouched.  The  first  act  had  imposed  rates  from  or  to  any  place 
to  or  from  London  as  a  centre.  It  had  been  taken  for  granted  that 
all  letters  passed  to,  from,  or  through  the  capital,  and  to  all  intents 
and  purposes  this  was  so.  It  was  possible,  however,  for  letters, 
technically  called  bye-letters,  to  stop  short  of  London,  and  it  was 
to  provide  for  these  that  postage  was  to  be  reckoned  from  any 
place  where  a  letter  might  be  posted. 

Scotland  was  no  longer  a  part  of  England  after  the  Restoration, 
so  that  by  the  act  of  1660  rates  were  given  to  and  from  Berwick 
and  for  single  letters  were  a  penny  less  than  they  had  been  to  Scot- 
land under  the  earlier  act.  From  Berwick  the  rate,  within  a  radius 
of  forty  miles,  was  2 d.  for  a  single  letter,  and  over  forty  miles,  4^. 
As  far  as  foreign  postage  was  concerned,  letters  to  the  northern 
coast  towns  of  Italy  paid  3^.  less  than  the  old  rate  for  a  single 
letter.  Other  rates  remained  the  same.  Alternative  routes  were 
sometimes  offered.  For  instance,  letters  might  be  sent  directly  to 
northern  Italy  or  they  might  go  via  Lyons,  but  in  the  latter  case 
they  cost  3^.  more.  Again,  there  were  many  more  continental 
towns  to  which  letters  might  be  sent  and  from  which  they  might  be 
received.  Letters  for  Germany  via  Hamburg  had  to  be  postpaid 
1  Scobell,  Colled.,  pt.  ii,  pp.  511-13. 


RATES  AND  FINANCE  139 

as  far  as  that  city.  The  same  was  true  of  letters  to  southern  France 
via  Paris  and  of  letters  to  northern  Italy  via  Lyons.  The  highest 
rate  paid  for  a  single  letter  was  is.  to  northern  Italy,  Turkey,  and 
central  and  northern  Germany.  Merchants'  accounts  not  exceed- 
ing one  sheet  of  paper,  bills  of  exchange,  invoices  and  bills  of  lad- 
ing, were  to  pay  nothing  over  the  charge  of  the  letter  in  which  they 
might  be  enclosed.  The  same  rule  was  to  hold  for  the  covers  of 
letters  sent  to  Turkey  via  Marseilles.  All  inland  letters  were  to  be 
paid  for  at  the  place  where  they  were  delivered  unless  the  sender 
wished  to  pay  in  advance.1 

When  the  Scotch  was  separated  from  the  English  Post  Office  in 
1695,  rates  were  imposed  by  the  Parliament  of  Scotland  as  follows: 

For  a  single  letter 

To  Berwick  2S.2 

Within  50  miles  from  Edinburgh  2 

From  50  to  100  miles  from  Edinburgh  3 

Above  100  miles  from  Edinburgh  4 

Packages  of  papers  were  to  pass  as  triple  letters.3  In  1701,  when  the 
Scotch  Post  was  let  out  to  farm,  the  English  Postmasters-General 
advised  that  the  farmers  should  be  obliged  to  pay  at  Berwick  the 
postage  on  English  and  foreign  letters  for  Scotland,  and  an  order 
in  accordance  with  this  advice  was  signed  by  the  King.  It  was  the 
custom  to  change  the  farmers  every  three  years,  which  may  have 
produced  a  larger  revenue  but  was  certainly  not  calculated  to 
increase  the  efficiency  of  the  office.  The  English  Postmasters- 
General  had  great  difficulty  in  collecting  at  Berwick  the  postage 
due  them,  and  it  is  doubtful  whether  a  large  part  was  ever  paid. 
The  frequent  changes  in  the  farmers  must  have  been  an  excellent 
means  of  allowing  them  to  escape  their  debts  to  the  English.4 

It  has  been  customary  to  point  to  the  postage  rates  of  1660  as 
lower  than  any  before  the  nineteenth  century.  This  is  true  in  a  gen- 
eral way,  but  one  limitation  to  the  statement  is  generally  over- 
looked. Before  1696  all  posts  ran  to  or  from  London,  and  it  was 
not  until  well  on  in  the  eighteenth  century  that  the  system  of  cross 

1  12  Chas.  II,  c.  35.        2  One  shilling  Scotch  was  equal  to  one  penny  English. 
»  Wm.  Ill,  ist  parl.,  $th  session  (Scotland),  c.  31. 
4  Cal.  T.  P.,  1697-1702,  48;  1702-1707,  101. 


140     THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

posts  was  introduced.  Bristol  and  Exeter  are  less  than  eighty  miles 
apart,  but  a  letter  from  Bristol  to  Exeter  went  to  London  first  and 
from  there  to  Exeter,  travelling  about  300  miles  to  reach  a  town 
eighty  miles  distant.  Now  by  the  act  of  1660,  the  rate  for  distances 
above  80  miles  was  3^.  Thus  the  letter  paid  3^.  from  Bristol  to 
London  and  $d.  more  from  London  to  Exeter,  6d.  in  all.  If  there 
had  been  a  direct  post  from  Bristol  to  Exeter,  and  there  was  not 
until  1698,  the  postage  would  have  been  2d.  only.  The  possibility 
of  such  an  anomaly  as  this  must  be  kept  in  mind  in  considering  the 
low  rates  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

In  James  the  Second's  reign,  a  Post  Office  had  been  established 
in  Jamaica,  and  rates  of  postage  had  been  settled  not  only  in  the 
island  itself  but  between  it  and  the  mother  country.  This  was  a  new 
departure,  since  at  that  time  there  were  no  packet  boats  to  the 
West  Indies.  The  rate  between  England  and  Jamaica  was  6d.  for  a 
single  letter,  is.  for  a  double  letter,  and  25.  an  ounce.  As  the  Crown 
was  not  at  the  expense  of  maintaining  means  of  transport,  this  was 
a  pure  tax.1  In  1704,  the  postage  on  a  single  letter  from  the  West 
Indies  was  raised  to  7  id.,  for  a  double  letter  15^.,  but  Bummer's 
packets  were  then  in  operation.2 

In  1698,  a  system  of  posts  had  been  established  in  the  American 
colonies  between  the  largest  towns  on  the  Atlantic  coast.  All  that 
is  known  about  the  rates  is  that  the  charge  for  the  conveyance  of  a 
letter  between  Boston  and  New  York  was  is.  and  the  post  went 
weekly  between  those  places.3  Hamilton,  the  deputy  manager, 
proposed  that  letters  from  England  should  be  sent  in  sealed  bags 
entrusted  to  the  masters  of  ships.  The  bags  were  to  be  handed  over 
to  the  postmaster  of  the  port  where  the  ship  first  touched  and  the 
captain  was  to  receive  a  penny  for  each  letter.  He  advised  that  the 
following  rates  should  be  adopted:  — 

1  Joyce,  p.  78. 

8  Col.  T.  P.,  1702-07,  46. 

Single  letter    Double  letter     Per  ounce 

Rates  to  the  islands  were  gd.  iSd.  32^. 

In  1705  increased  to  15  30  72 

Rates  from  the  islands  in  1705         18  36  72 

—  Stow's  London,  bk.  v,  p.  400. 
1  Joyce,  p.  in. 


RATES  AND  FINANCE  141 

Not  exceeding  80  miles  from  New  York  6d. 

From  80  to  150  miles  from  New  York  9 

To  and  from  Boston  and  New  York,  300  miles  12 

Jersey,  370  miles  18 

Philadelphia,  390  miles  20 

Annapolis,  550  miles    4  36 

Jamestown,  680  miles  42 

New  York  and  Annapolis,  250  miles  24 

Jamestown,  380  miles 

(with  many  dangerous  places  to  cross  by  ferry)  30 

These  rates  were  said  to  be  too  high  and  were  not  adopted,  "it 
being  found  that  cheap  postage  greatly  encourages  letter  writing, 
as  is  shown  by  the  reduction  in  England  from  6d.  to  3d."1 

The  preamble  to  the  act  of  1711  offered  as  an  explanation  of  an 
increase  in  rates  the  necessity  for  money  for  the  war  and  the  pre- 
vention of  private  competition  in  carrying  letters.  It  is  plain  that 
higher  rates  will,  up  to  a  certain  point,  increase  proceeds,  though 
not  proportionately,  but  how  increased  rates  can  decrease  compe- 
tition is  more  difficult  to  explain.  Witherings  had  found  that  the 
cheaper  he  made  postage,  the  less  fear  was  there  from  interlopers. 
It  is  possible  that  the  framers  of  the  bill  had  intended  to  use  part 
of  the  increase  in  revenue  for  the  support  of  searchers,  but  no  such 
provision  is  contained  in  the  act  itself.2  On  the  ground  that  a  large 
revenue  was  necessary,  no  fault  can  be  found  with  the  increase.  It 
is  probably  true  that  in  course  of  time  lower  rates  would  have  in- 
creased the  product  more  than  higher,  but  war  and  its  demands 
wait  for  no  man.  The  people  who  could  write  and  who  needed  to 
write  were  in  a  small  minority  then,  and  their  number  could  not 
for  a  long  time  be  influenced  by  lower  rates.  What  was  needed  at 
once  was  money  and  the  only  way  to  raise  it  by  means  of  the  Post 
Office  was  the  one  adopted. 

The  rates  for  single  letters  within  England  and  between  England 
and  Edinburgh  were  increased  by  a  penny  for  a  single  letter;  for 
double  letters  and  parcels  in  proportion.  To  Dublin  the  charge 
remained  the  same,  and  the  rates  within  Ireland  were  not  changed. 
In  the  act  of  1660,  the  postage  on  letters  delivered  in  Scotland  had 

1  Joyce,  p.  113;  Cal.  T.  P.,  1697-1702,  77.  2  Joyce,  p.  128. 


142      THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

been  reckoned  from  Berwick.  Edinburgh  was  now  made  the  centre 

and  the  rates  were  as  follows:  — 

For  a  single  letter  Per  ounce 

From  Edinburgh  within  Scotland                     d.  d. 

Not  exceeding  50  miles                                  2  8 

Above  50  and  not  exceeding  80  miles            3  12 

Above  80  miles                                               4  16 l 

The  rates  within  Scotland  were  lower  than  those  within  England 
and  Ireland.  Scotland  had  a  2d.  rate  for  distances  not  exceeding 
fifty  miles.  England  had  no  rate  under  3^.,  except  for  the  Penny 
Post.  Ireland,  too,  had  a  2 d.  rate  for  distances  not  exceeding  forty 
miles,  but  for  distances  from  forty  to  eighty  miles  and  over,  the  rate 
for  Irish  letters  was  4^.,  while  in  England  the  rate  was  only  $d.  for 
distances  not  exceeding  eighty  miles.  The  distances  which  letters 
travelled  within  Scotland  were  shorter  than  in  England  and  Ireland. 
As  a  rule  the  different  rates  for  the  three  countries  varied  with  their 
wealth  and  consequent  ability  to  pay,  the  least  being  required  from 
poverty-stricken  Scotland.  The  new  rates  as  compared  with  the 
old  were  for  a  single  letter: 2  — 

For  England 

1660         1711 

Not  exceeding  80  miles  2d.  $d. 

Above  80  miles  3  4 

Between  London  and  Edinburgh  5  6 

Between  London  and  Dublin  6  6 

Within  Ireland 

Not  exceeding  40  miles  from  Dublin  2d.          2d. 

Above  40  miles  from  Dublin  4  4 

Within  Scotland    (Scotch  Act,  1695) 

Not  exceeding  50  miles  from  Edinburgh  2d.  2d. 

From  50  to  80  miles  from  Edinburgh  3 

From  50  to  100  miles  from  Edinburgh  3 

Above  80  miles  from  Edinburgh  4 

Above  100  miles  from  Edinburgh  4 

1  Double  letters  were  charged  twice  as  much  as  single  letters. 

2  When  the  rates  for  single  letters  only  are  given  it  is  understood  that  double  and 
triple  letters  paid  two  and  three  times  as  much  respectively.   Letters  weighing  an 
ounce  or  more  paid  a  single  letter  rate  for  each  quarter  of  an  ounce. 


RATES  AND  FINANCE  143 

The  act  of  1660  imposed  rates  on  letters  in  Scotland  from 
Berwick  as  a  centre.  By  that  act  rates  had  been  fixed  for  distances 
not  exceeding  40  miles  and  for  distances  over  forty  miles  from 
Berwick,  being  2d.  and  4^.  for  single  letters  for  the  respective  dis- 
tances, so  that  by  the  act  of  1711,  the  Scotch  rates  were  lower  than 
they  had  been  in  1660  and  slightly  higher  than  those  of  1695.  When 
forty  miles  was  made  the  lowest  distance  according  to  which  rates 
were  levied,  it  was  thought  and  intended  that  2^.,  the  rate  for  that 
distance,  would  pay  for  a  single  letter  from  Berwick  to  Edinburgh. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  distance  between  the  two  places  was  fifty 
miles,  so  that  the  Scotch  Act  had  estimated  it  better. 

In  the  rates  as  given  above,  an  exception  is  made  in  the  case  of 
letters  directed  on  board  ship  or  brought  by  it.  For  snch  letters 
one  penny  was  charged  in  addition  to  the  rates  already  given.  This 
extra  penny  was  charged  because  the  postmaster  in  the  place  where 
the  ship  first  touched  was  required  to  pay  the  master  of  the  vessel 
one  penny  for  every  letter  received.  Foreign  letters  collected  or 
delivered  at  any  place  between  London  and  the  port  of  departure  or 
arrival  of  the  ship  for  which  they  were  destined  or  by  which  they 
had  come,  must  pay  the  same  rate  as  if  they  had  left  or  arrived 
in  London. 

As  far  as  foreign  post  rates  were  concerned  they  were  all  from  id. 
to  3^.  higher  than  they  had  been  by  the  act  of  1660.  The  lowest 
foreign  rate  for  a  single  letter,  iod.,  was  paid  between  London  and 
France,  and  London  and  the  Spanish  Netherlands.  To  Germany 
and  Northwestern  Europe,  through  the  Spanish  Netherlands,  the 
rate  was  i2d.,  to  Italy  or  Sicily  the  same  way  12^.,  postpaid  to 
Antwerp,  or  15^.  via  Lyons.  The  same  rates  held  for  letters  pass- 
ing through  the  United  Provinces.  To  Spain  or  Portugal  via  the 
Spanish  Netherlands  or  the  United  Provinces  or  France,  postpaid 
to  Bayonne,  the  rate  was  iSd.  for  a  single  letter,  and  the  same 
price  held  when  letters  were  conveyed  directly  by  sailing  packets. 

By  the  same  act  of  1711  rates  were  for  the  first  time  established 
between  England  and  her  colonies  and  within  the  colonies  them- 
selves. The  postage  for  a  single  letter  from  London  to  any  of  the 
West  India  Islands  was  i8J.,  to  New  York  12^.,  and  the  same  from 
those  places  to  London.  Between  the  West  Indies  and  New  York 


144     THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

the  rate  was  4^.  In  the  colonies  on  the  mainland,  the  chief  let- 
ter offices  were  at  New  York,  Perth  Amboy,  New  London,  Phila- 
delphia, Bridlington,  Newport,  Portsmouth,  Boston,  Annapolis, 
Salem,  Ipswich,  Piscataway,  Williamstown,  and  Charleston.  The 
postage  was  4^.  to  and  from  any  of  these  places  to  a  distance  not 
exceeding  sixty  miles  and  6d.  for  any  distance  between  sixty  and 
100  miles.  Between  New  York,  Perth  Amboy,  and  Bridlington, 
the  rate  was  6J.;  between  New  York,  New  London,  and  Phila- 
delphia gd.j  between  New  York,  Newport,  Portsmouth,  and  Boston 
12^.;  between  New  York,  Salem,  Ipswich,  Piscataway,  and  Wil- 
liamstown i$d. ;  between  New  York  and  Charleston  iSd. ;  the  Post 
Office  was  to  pay  nothing  for  crossing  ferries. 

There  had  always  been  trouble  in  collecting  the  rates  on  bye  and 
cross  post  letters.  These  letters  did  not  pass  through  London  and 
hence  the  officials  at  the  General  Post  Office  had  no  check  on  the 
money  due.  By  a  clause  in  the  act,  the  postmasters  were  ordered 
under  a  penalty  to  account  for  the  receipts  from  all  these  letters. 
The  postage  on  letters  which  did  not  pass  to,  through,  or  from 
London  was  fixed  according  to  the  inland  charges,  varying  with 
the  distances  travelled.  Finally,  the  postage  on  all  inland  letters 
was  to  be  paid  on  delivery  unless  the  sender  wished  to  pay  in  ad- 
vance, or  in  the  case  of  the  Penny  Post,  or  unless  such  letters  should 
be  directed  on  board  any  ship  or  vessel  or  to  any  person  in  the 
army. 

From  the  receipts  from  postage,  £700  a  week  was  to  be  paid 
into  the  Exchequer  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  on  the  war.  The 
Accountant-General  was  to  keep  account  of  all  money  raised,  the 
receipts  themselves  going  directly  to  the  Receiver-General  and 
being  paid  into  the  Exchequer  by  him.  One  third  of  the  surplus 
over  and  above  the  weekly  payment  of  £700  and  £111,461  (the 
amount  of  the  gross  receipts  of  the  duties  arising  by  virtue  of  the 
act  of  1660)  were  to  be  disposed  of  by  Parliament.  In  making  this 
provision,  Joyce  thinks  that  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  con- 
fused gross  and  net  product.1  As  a  matter  of  fact  there  was  no  such 
surplus  as  was  anticipated  by  the  Chancellor,  but  it  does  not  follow 
that  he  made  the  mistake  of  which  he  was  accused  by  Cornwallis 

1  Joyce,  p.  145. 


RATES  AND   FINANCE  145 

and  Craggs,  an  accusation  in  which  Joyce  evidently  concurs.  He 
erred  simply  in  supposing  that  expenses  would  remain  the  same.1 

The  act  of  1711  in  prescribing  the  rate  of  postage  for  the  car- 
riage of  " every  single  letter  or  piece  of  paper"  enacted  that  a 
"  double  letter  should  pay  twice  that  rate."  The  merchants  con- 
tended that  a  double  letter  was  composed  of  two  sheets  of  paper  if 
they  weighed  less  than  an  ounce  and  their  reasoning  was  logical. 
They  argued  from  this  that  a  letter  enclosing  a  pattern  or  patterns, 
if  it  weighed  less  than  one  ounce,  should  pay  only  as  a  single  let- 
ter. Actions  were  brought  against  the  postmasters  by  the  mer- 
chants for  charging  more  than  they  considered  was  warranted  and 
the  merchants  won  every  case.  The  lawyers  also  threatened  legal 
proceedings  for  the  charge  of  writs  when  enclosed  in  letters.  The 
Postmasters- General  hastened  to  Parliament  for  relief.  The  mer- 
chants heard  of  this,  and  petitions  were  sent  to  the  House  of 
Commons  from  "clothiers,  dealers  in  cloth,  silk,  and  other  manu- 
factured goods,"  asking  that  when  samples  were  enclosed  in  a 
single  letter  the  rate  should  remain  the  same  provided  that  such 
letter  and  sample  did  not  exceed  half  an  ounce  in  weight.2  Their 
efforts  were  fruitless.  The  following  provisions  were  inserted  in 
a  tobacco  bill  then  before  Parliament  and  passed  in  1753:  "that 
every  writ  etc.  enclosed  in  a  letter  was  to  pay  as  a  distinct  letter 
and  that  a  letter  with  one  or  more  patterns  enclosed  and  not 
exceeding  one  ounce  in  weight  was  to  pay  as  a  double  letter."  8  As 
a  matter  of  fact  all  the  rates  collected  after  1743  by  virtue  of  the 
act  of  1711  were  illegal,  for  the  act  itself  had  died  a  natural  death 
in  the  former  year  by  that  clause  which  provided  for  the  revival  of 
the  rates  of  1660  at  the  end  of  thirty- two  years. 

A  postal  act  was  passed  in  1765,  slightly  changing  the  home, 
colonial,  and  foreign  rates.  The  cession  of  territory  in  North  America 
had  made  necessary  a  more  comprehensive  scheme  of  postage  rates 
there.  The  conclusion  of  the  Seven  Years'  War  had  made  it  possi- 
ble to  offer  a  slight  reduction  in  postage.  In  Great  Britain  the  follow- 
ing rates  were  published  for  short  distances  for  a  single  letter:  — 

For  Great  Britain  —  not  exceeding  one  post  stage  id. 

For  England  alone  —  over  one  and  not  exceeding  two  stages    2d. 

1  9  Anne,  c.  n.    *  Jo.  H.  C.,  1745-50,  pp.  751-2.    •  26  Geo.  Ill,  c.  13,  sees.  7,  8. 


146     THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

The  rates  for  all  other  distances  remained  unchanged.  A  stage,  as  a 
rule,  varied  from  ten  to  twelve  miles  in  length,  so  that  every  post 
town  in  England  could  now  boast  a  modified  form  of  penny 
postage,  with  the  exception  in  most  cases  of  delivery  facilities. 

The  changes  in  colonial  rates  were  generally  in  the  shape  of  sub- 
stituting general  for  special  rules.  The  rate  from  any  part  of  the 
British  American  Dominions  to  any  other  part  was  fixed  at  4^.  for  a 
single  letter  when  conveyed  by  sea.  The  act  of  1711  had  given  the 
postage  from  and  to  specially  named  places.  This  method  had  be- 
come inapplicable  with  the  growth  in  population  among  the  old 
and  the  increase  in  new  possessions.  The  rate  for  a  single  letter 
from  any  chief  post  office  in  the  British  American  Dominions  to  a 
distance  not  exceeding  sixty  miles,  or  for  any  distance  not  exceeding 
sixty  miles  from  any  post  office  from  which  letters  did  not  pass 
through  a  chief  post  office,  was  placed  at  4^.,  from  sixty  to  100  miles 
6d.,  from  i oo  to  200  miles  8 d.,  for  each  additional  hundred  miles 
2  d.  The  effect  of  this  act  was  to  continue  the  same  rates  for  inland 
postage  in  British  America,  while  rates  were  provided  for  dis- 
tances over  100  miles.  The  postage  between  England  and  the 
American  colonies  remained  at  i2d.  for  a  single  letter.  In  the 
case  of  the  West  Indies,  there  was  a  decrease  of  6d.  A  clause  of 
the  act  provided  that  the  postage  on  letters  sent  out  of  England 
might  be  demanded  in  advance.1 

Postage  rates  were  increased  steadily  from  1784  for  twenty-eight 
years,  culminating  in  the  year  1812  with  the  highest  rates  that 
England  has  ever  seen.  Every  available  means  to  raise  the  revenue 
necessary  to  maintain  her  supremacy  was  resorted  to,  and  the 
Post  Office  was  compelled  to  bear  its  share  of  the  burden.  In  1784 
another  penny  was  added  to  the  rates  for  single  letters  and  addi- 
tional rates  for  double  and  triple  letters  in  proportion.2  Three 

1  5  Geo.  Ill,  c.  25.  The  principle  of  payment  in  advance  was  not  popular.  A  man 
in  England  writing  to  his  brother  in  Virginia  in  1764  says,  "Very  often  of  late  I  have 
been  so  foolish,  I  should  say  unfortunate  previously  to  pay  for  the  letters  coming  to 
you.  ...  To  my  great  concern  I  have  been  since  assured  that  such  letters  never  go 
forward  but  are  immediately  thrown  aside  and  neglected.  I  believe  I  wrote  to  you 
three  or  four  times  this  last  winter  by  this  method  and  am  since  informed  of  this  their 
fate.  You  may  form  a  great  guess  of  the  truth  of  it  by  or  by  not  receiving  them  " 
(Notes  and  Queries,  4th  ser.,  xii,  p.  125).  2  24  Geo.  Ill,  sess.  2,  c.  37. 


RATES  AND  FINANCE  147 

years  later  an  act  was  passed,  fixing  the  postage  for  the  conveyance 
of  a  single  letter  by  sailing  packet  from  Milford  Haven  to  Water- 
ford  at  6d.  over  and  above  all  other  rates.  It  was  provided  by  the 
same  act  that  the  rates  between  London  and  Ireland  via  Milford 
should  not  exceed  the  rates  via  Holy  head.1 

In  1796  the  rates  for  letters  conveyed  within  England  and  Wales, 
Berwick,  to  and  from  Portugal,  and  to  and  from  the  British  pos- 
sessions in  America,  as  established  by  the  acts  of  1711,  1765,  and 
1784,  were  repealed  and  the  following  substituted  for  a  single 
letter :- 

Within  England,  Wales  and  Berwick.  ^ 

Not  exceeding  15  miles  from  place  where  letter  is  posted  3 

From  15  to  30  miles  etc.  4 

30       60  5 

60       100  6 

100       150  7 

Over  150  miles,  etc.  8 

Within  Scotland. 
In  addition  to  rates  in  force  i 

The  old  system  of  reckoning  by  stages  was  thus  abolished,  prob- 
ably on  account  of  the  uncertainty  as  to  the  length  of  any  particu- 
lar stage  and  the  variations  and  changes  which  were  being  con- 
stantly made.  This  change  was  made  for  England  and  Wales  only, 
and  the  old  system  of  reckoning  by  stages  was  still  retained  in  Scot- 
land. Letters  from  and  to  the  colonies  had  formerly  paid  no  post- 
age over  the  regular  shilling  rate  for  a  single  letter  and  propor- 
tionately for  other  letters.  Now  they  were  to  pay  the  full  inland 
rate  in  addition.  A  single  letter  from  the  West  Indies  would  now 
pay  the  shilling  packet  rate  plus  the  rate  from  Falmouth  to  Lon- 
don, is.  Sd.  in  all.  The  same  rates  and  the  same  rule  held  for  letters 
to  and  from  Portugal.  A  single  letter  from  Lisbon  had  formerly 
paid  is.  6d.  on  delivery  in  London.  It  would  now  pay  is.  Sd. 

This  act  was  not  to  affect  letters  to  and  from  non-commissioned 
officers,  privates,  and  seamen  while  in  active  service,  who  were  al- 

1  27  Geo.  Ill,  c.  9.  In  1767  a  rate  of  2d.  for  a  single  letter  was  established  between 
Whitehaven  (Cumberland)  and  the  Port  of  Douglas  (Isle  of  Man)  (7  Geo.  Ill,  c.  50). 


148  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

lowed  to  send  and  receive  letters  for  one  penny  each,  payable  in 
advance.  The  revenue  arising  from  the  new  and  the  unrepealed 
rates  was  to  be  paid  to  the  Receiver- General  and  be  by  him  carried 
to  the  Consolidated  Fund.  The  increase  from  the  additional  post- 
age was  estimated  at  £40,000  a  year  and  was  to  be  used  to  pay  the 
interest  on  loans  contracted  the  preceding  year.1 

When  sailing  packets  were  established  between  Weymouth  and 
the  islands  of  Jersey  and  Guernsey,  the  packet  rates  and  the  rates 
between  the  islands  themselves  were  fixed  at  2 d.  for  a  single  letter. 
Permission  was  also  given  to  establish  postal  routes  in  the  islands, 
and  to  charge  the  same  postage  for  the  conveyance  of  letters  as  in 
England.  The  surplus  was  to  go  to  the  General  Office  and  all  postal 
laws  then  in  force  in  England  were  to  be  deemed  applicable  to  the 
two  islands.2 

By  the  same  act  which  gave  the  Postmasters-General  authority 
to  forward  letters  by  vessels  other  than  the  regular  sailing  packets, 
rates  were  fixed  for  the  carriage  of  such  letters.  For  every  single 
letter  brought  into  the  kingdom  by  these  vessels,  4^.  was  to  be 
charged.  The  Postmasters- General  might  order  such  rates  to  be 
payable  in  advance  or  on  delivery.  This  was  in  addition  to  the  in- 
land postage,  and  for  every  letter  handed  over  to  the  Post  Office, 
the  captain  was  to  receive  2d.  The  revenue  arising  from  this  act 
was  payable  to  the  Exchequer.3 

In  1 80 1  the  Post  Office  was  called  upon  again  to  make  a  further 
contribution  to  the  Exchequer  to  help  meet  the  interest  on  new 
loans.  The  following  were  the  new  rates  for  a  single  letter:  — 

Within  Great  Britain  by  the  General  Post 

d. 

Not  exceeding  15  measured  miles  3 

Above  15  but  not  exceeding  30  measured  miles  4 

30  50  5 

50  80  6 

80  120  7 

120  170  8 

170  230  9 

230  300  10 

i  37  Geo.  in,  c.  18.  *  33  Geo.  Ill,  c.  60.  «  39  Geo.  Ill,  c.  76. 


RATES  AND  FINANCE  149 

d. 

For  every  100  miles  above  300  miles  an  additional  rate  of  i 

Where  the  distance  above  300  miles  did  not  amount  to  100  miles  an 

additional  rate  of  i 

Where  the  distance  above  300  miles  exceeded  100  miles  and  for 

every  excess  of  distance  over  100  miles  an  additional  rate  of  i 

By  the  act  of  1796  a  uniform  rate  of  Sd.  for  a  single  letter  had 
been  paid  for  distances  over  150  miles.  The  new  act  not  only  im- 
posed extra  rates  for  all  distances  over  150  miles  but  it  decreased 
the  distances  above  30  miles  for  which  the  old  postage  would  have 
paid.  For  instance,  a  6d.  rate  had  carried  a  single  letter  100  miles, 
a  7^.  rate  150  miles.  They  now  carried  only  80  and  120  miles  re- 
spectively. 

•  On  letters  to  and  from  places  abroad,  "not  being  within  His 
Majesty's  Dominions,"  an  additional  rate  of  4^.  for  a  single  letter 
was  imposed.1  In  London,  where  a  penny  had  been  charged  for  the 
conveyance  of  letters  by  the  Penny  Post,  2d.  was  now  charged.  An 
additional  rate  of  2d.  for  a  single  letter  was  imposed  upon  letters 
passing  between  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  via  Holyhead  or  Mil- 
ford.  The  Postmasters- General  were  given  authority  to  convey 
letters  to  and  from  places  which  were  not  post  towns  for  such 
sums  for  extra  service  as  might  be  agreed  upon.  Merchants'  ac- 
counts and  bills  of  exchange  which,  when  sent  out  of  the  kingdom 
or  conveyed  into  it,  had  not  formerly  been  charged  postage  over 
the  letters  in  which  they  were  enclosed,  were  now  to  be  rated  as 
letters.2 

In  1803,  the  following  rates  were  imposed  within  Ireland  for  a 
single  letter:  — 

d.  (Irish)' 

Not  exceeding  15  Irish  miles  2 

From  15  to  30  Irish  miles  3 

30      So  4 

50      80  5 

Exceeding  80  Irish  miles  6 

1  When  the  temporary  peace  of  Amiens  was  concluded  in  1802,  the  rates  for  single 
letters  from  London  to  France  were  reduced  to  iod.,  from  London  to  the  Batavian 
Republic  to  i2d.  (42  Geo.  II,  c.  101). 

2  41  Geo.  Ill,  c.  7. 

§  *  The  Irish  penny  was  of  the  same  value  as  the  English  penny. 


150  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

The  postage  on  letters  arriving  in  Ireland  for  the  distance  travelled 
outside  Ireland  was  ordered  to  be  collected  by  the  Irish  Postmaster- 
General  and  forwarded  to  London.  An  additional  penny  was  im- 
posed upon  Dublin  Penny  Post  letters  crossing  the  circular  road 
around  Dublin.1 

In  1805,  for  the  third  time  within  ten  years,  the  Exchequer  fell 
back  upon  the  Post  Office  for  an  increase  of  revenue  estimated  at 
£23o,ooo.2  There  were  added  to  the  rates  as  already  prescribed  — 
id.  for  a  single  letter,  2d.  for  a  double  letter,  3 d.  for  a  triple  letter, 
and  4<2.  for  a  letter  weighing  as  much  as  one  ounce,  for  all  letters 
conveyed  by  the  Post  in  Great  Britain  or  between  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland.  The  postage  on  a  single  letter  from  London  to  Brigh- 
ton was  thus  raised  from  6d.  to  7^.,  from  London  to  Liverpool 
from  gd.  to  ioJ.,  and  from  London  to  Edinburgh  from  i2d.  to  13^. 
Twopenny  Post  letters  paid  3^.  if  sent  beyond  the  General  Post 
Delivery  limits,  while  newspapers  paid  id.  On  every  letter  passing 
between  Great  Britain  and  a  foreign  country  2d.  more  was  to  be 
paid.  An  additional  penny  was  charged  for  every  single  letter 
between  Great  Britain  and  the  British  American  Dominions  via 
Portugal,  and  between  Great  Britain,  the  Isle  of  Man  and  Jersey 
and  Guernsey.3  In  the  same  year  the  Irish  rates  were  also  increased 
by  the  imposition  of  an  additional  penny  upon  each  single  letter 
with  corresponding  changes  in  the  postage  on  double  and  triple 
letters.  The  Dublin  Penny  Post  was  left  untouched,  its  boundaries 
being  defined  as  contained  within  a  circle  of  four  miles  radius,  with 
the  General  Post  Office  building  as  the  centre.  Every  letter  from 
any  ship  within  Irish  waters  was  charged  a  penny  in  addition  to  the 
increased  rates.4 

Still  the  demand  was  for  more  money  to  help  replenish  an  ex- 
hausted treasury.  An  additional  penny  was  added  for  the  convey- 
ance of  a  single  letter  more  than  twenty  miles  beyond  the  place 
where  the  letter  was  posted  within  Great  Britain  and  between  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland.  For  the  conveyance  of  a  single  letter  between 
Great  Britain  and  any  of  the  colonies  or  to  any  foreign  country  an 

1  43  Geo.  Ill,  c.  28.  *  Parl.  Deb.,  ist  ser.,  iii,  col.  550. 

^  »  45  Geo.  Ill,  c.  ii.  _  *  45  Geo.  Ill,  c.  21. 


RATES  AND  FINANCE  151 

additional  2d.  was  required.  These  additional  rates  did  not  apply 
to  letters  to  and  from  Jersey  or  Guernsey,  or  to  and  from  any  non- 
commissioned officer,  soldier,  or  sailor.1  Samples  weighing  no  more 
than  one  ounce  were  to  pay  2 d.  if  enclosed  in  a  letter,  if  not  enclosed, 
i d.  As  this  is  the  highest  point  to  which  postage  rates  in  England 
have  ever  attained,  it  may  be  interesting  to  give  the  rates  re- 
sulting from  this  act  in  tabular  form  as  far  as  the  postage  for 
inland  single  letters  was  concerned.2 

d. 

Not  exceeding  15  miles  4 

Above  15  but  not  exceeding  20  miles  5 

20  30  6 

30  50  7 

50  80  8 

80  120  9 

120  I7O  10 

170  230  II 

230  300  12 

300  400  13 

400  500  14 

500  600  15 

600  700 j  16 

700  miles  17 

In  1810,  an  additional  penny  (Irish)  was  added  to  the  rates  then  in 
force  in  Ireland,  with  the  exception  of  the  penny  rate  on  the  Dublin 
Penny  Post  Letters.3  Three  years  later  the  rates  and  distances  for 
Ireland  were  changed  again.  As  compared  with  the  old  rates  they 
were  as  follows,  both  tables  being  in  Irish  miles  and  Irish  currency 
and  for  single  letters  only:  — 

1  Single  letters  written  by  or  to  non-commissioned  officers,  privates,  and  seamen 
must  be  on  their  own  business,  and  if  sent  by  them  must  bear  their  own  signatures 
and  the  signature  of  their  superior  officer  with  the  name  of  their  regiment  or  ship 
(46  Geo.  Ill,  c.  92). 

2  52  Geo.  Ill,  c.  88. 

In  1806,  the  rate  for  a  single  letter  between  Falmouth  and  Gibraltar  was  fixed  at 
2id.,  between  Falmouth  and  Malta  2$d.,  between  Gibraltar  and  Malta  6d.  (46  Geo. 
HI,  c.  73). 

In  1808,  the  rate  for  a  single  letter  between  Falmouth  and  Madeira  was  fixed  at 
i84.,  between  Falmouth  and  Brazil  2gd.  (48  Geo.  Ill,  c.  116). 

1  50  Geo.  Ill,  c.  74. 


152     THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

1810                                   d.                          1813  d. 

Not  exceeding  15  miles               4        Not  exceeding  10  miles  2 

From  15  to  30  miles                    5        From  10  to  20  miles  3 

30      50                             6                   20      30  4 

50      80                              7                   30      40  5 

Exceeding  80  miles                     8                  40      50  6 

50      60  7 

60      80  8 

80    100  9 

Over  100  miles  10 

The  rates  of  1813  were  lower  for  distances  not  exceeding  forty 
miles,  higher  for  distances  over  eighty  miles.  On  the  whole  there 
was  little  change,  but  the  later  rates  were  probably  more  easily 
borne  as  they  were  lower  for  short  distances.1  The  next  year  the 
rates  and  distances  for  Ireland  were  changed  again,  the  result  being 
an  increase  both  for  short  and  for  long  distances.  The  results  are 
shown  in  the  following  table  in  Irish  miles  and  Irish  currency  and 
for  a  single  letter: 2  — 

Not  exceeding  7  miles  2d. 

Over  7  and  not  exceeding  15  miles  3 

15  25  4 

25  35  5 

35  45  6 

45  55  7 

55  65  8 

65  95  9 

95  125  10 

125  150  ii 

150  200  12 

200  250  13 

250  300  14 

For  every  100  miles  over  300  miles  i 

In  1814  the  postage  on  a  single  letter  brought  into  the  kingdom 

|    i  53  Geo.  Ill,  c.  58. 

2  54  Geo.  Ill,  c.  119.  1 

In  1813  an  additional  half-penny  was  demanded  on  all  Scotch  letters  "  because  the 

mail  coaches  now  paid  toll  in  that  country.'?  So  at  least  a  correspondent  to  theTimes 

says  (London  Times,  1813,  June  21,  p.  3). 


RATES  AND  FINANCE  153 

by  ships  other  than  the  regular  packets  was  raised  from  4^.  to  6d. 
in  addition  to  the  regular  inland  rates.  The  rate  for  letters  sent  out 
of  the  kingdom  by  these  vessels  was  fixed  at  one  third  the  regular 
packet  rates.1  An  exception  was  made  in  the  case  of  letters  carried 
by  war  vessels  or  by  vessels  of  the  East  India  Company  to  and  from 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  Mauritius,  and  that  part  of  the  East  Indies 
embraced  in  the  charter  of  the  company.  The  rates  by  these  ves- 
sels were  to  be  the  same  as  the  regular  packet  rates,  42 d.  for  a  single 
letter  between  those  places  and  England,  and  2id.  for  a  single  letter 
between  the  places  themselves.  Newspapers  were  charged  ^d.  an 
ounce  between  England,  the  Cape,  Mauritius,  and  the  East  Indies. 
The  rate  for  a  single  letter  conveyed  in  private  vessels  not  em- 
ployed by  the  Post  Office  to  carry  mails  was  14^.  from  England  to 
the  Cape  or  the  East  Indies,  and  Sd.  from  the  Cape  or  the  East 
Indies  to  England.  The  company  was  allowed  to  collect  rates  on 
letters  within  its  own  territory  in  India,  but  the  Postmasters-Gen- 
eral of  England  might  at  any  time  establish  post  offices  in  any  such 
territory.  The  company  was  to  be  paid  for  the  use  of  its  ships  in 
conveying  letters.2 

By  the  Ship  Letter  Act  of  1814,  no  letters  were  to  be  sent  by  pri- 
vate ships  except  such  as  had  been  brought  to  the  Post  Office  to  be 
charged.  The  directors  of  the  East  India  Company  had  protested 
against  this  section  of  the  act.  It  is  true  that  they  were  allowed  to 
send  and  receive  letters  by  the  ships  of  their  own  company,  but  in 
India  there  was  a  small  army  of  officials  in  their  service  whose  let- 
ters had  hitherto  gone  free.  For  that  matter  it  had  been  the  custom 
for  the  company  to  carry  for  nothing  all  letters  and  papers  which 
were  placed  in  the  letter  box  at  the  East  India  House.3  Petitions 
were  presented  against  an  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  Post  Office  to 
charge  postage  on  letters  to  and  from  India  when  conveyed  by 
private  vessels.4  The  company  refused  to  allow  its  vessels  to  be 

1  54  Geo.  Ill,  c.  169.    Enacted  for  Ireland  the  following  year  (55  Geo.  Ill,  c.  103). 
'  a  55  Geo.  Ill,  c.  153.  This  act,  although  repealed  for  Great  Britain  by  59  Geo.  Ill, 
c.  in,  still  remained  in  force  in  Ireland  (5  and  6  Wm.  IV,  c.  25). 
8  London  Times,  1814,  Oct.  8,  p.  3;  1815,  Jan.  19,  p.  3. 
4  Par/.  Deb.,  ist  ser.,  xxx,  col.  766;  xxxi,  col.  220. 


154     THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

used  as  packet  boats  or  even  to  carry  letters  at  all.  It  was  in  conse- 
quence of  all  this  opposition  that  the  act  of  1815  was  passed,  giving 
more  favourable  treatment  to  letters  to  and  from  India.  By  this 
act  no  person  sending  a  letter  to  India  was  compelled  to  have  it 
charged  at  the  Post  Office  and  the  masters  were  compelled  to  carry 
letters  if  the  Postmasters- General  ordered  them.  The  company 
now  withdrew  all  opposition  and  even  refused  to  accept  any  pay- 
ment for  the  use  of  their  vessels  in  conveying  letters.1  Notwith- 
standing the  favourable  exception  made  in  the  case  of  letters  to  and 
from  the  East  Indies,  there  was  still  discontent  over  the  high  rates 
charged  by  the  Post  Office  for  the  conveyance  of  letters  by  the  regu- 
lar packet  boats  and  by  private  vessels,  when  carrying  letters  en- 
trusted to  the  Post  Office.2  In  1819  the  sea  postage  on  any  letter 
or  package  not  exceeding  three  ounces  in  weight  from  Ceylon, 
Mauritius,  the  Cape,  and  the  East  Indies  was  placed  at  4^.  If  it 
exceeded  three  ounces  in  weight,  it  was  charged  i2d.  an  ounce.  The 
sea  postage  on  letters  and  packages  to  Ceylon,  etc.,  not  exceeding 
three  ounces  in  weight,  was  placed  at  2 d.  If  the  weight  was  more 
than  three  ounces,  the  charge  was  i2d.  an  ounce.  The  postage 
on  letters  and  packages  from  England  was  payable  in  advance. 
Newspapers  were  charged  a  penny  an  ounce.3 

By  an  act  passed  in  1827  it  was  provided  that  henceforth  all 
rates  for  letters  conveyed  within  Ireland  should  be  collected  in 
British  currency.  The  rates  themselves  and  the  distances  remained 
the  same  as  had  been  provided  by  the  act  of  1814.  The  postage 
collected  on  letters  between  the  two  kingdoms  was  henceforth  to  be 
retained  in  the  country  where  it  was  collected.  The  rates  for  letters 
passing  between  the  two  kingdoms  were  assimilated  with  the  rates 
prescribed  for  Great  Britain  by  the  act  of  1812.  In  addition  to  the 
land  rates,  2d.  was  required  for  the  sea  passage  to  and  from  Holy- 
head  and  Milford  and  to  this  2  d.  more  was  added  for  the  use  of  the 

1  Joyce,  p.  363. 

2  The  Calcutta  Monthly  complained  that  the  new  rates  had  rendered  correspond- 
ence less  frequent.  "The  so-called  packet  boats  are  often  two  or  three  months  slower 
than  private  vessels"  (London  Times,  1818,  Oct.  30,  p.  3). 

8  59  Geo.  Ill,  c.  HI;  London  Times,  1820,  Jan.  24,  p.  3. 


RATES  AND  FINANCE 


155 


Conway  and  Menai  Bridges.1  Between  Portpatrick  and  Donagha- 
dee  the  postage  was  4^.  for  a  single  letter,  between  Liverpool  and 
any  Irish  port  8d.,  but  no  letter  sent  via  Liverpool  paid  a  higher 
rate  than  if  sent  via  Holy  head.2  An  additional  halfpenny  was  also 
demanded  on  every  single  letter  passing  between  Milford  Haven 
and  Waterford,  to  pay  for  improvements.3 

In  1836,  England  and  France  signed  a  postal  treaty  by  which 
the  rates  on  letters  between  the  United  Kingdom  and  France  or 
between  any  other  country  and  the  United  Kingdom  through 
France  were  materially  reduced.4  On  such  letters  the  method  of 

1  7  and  8  Geo.  IV,  c.  21.  The  postage  between  Liverpool  and  Dublin  for  a  single 
letter  was  i^d.,  made  up  as  follows:  — 

Inland  postage  to  Holyhead  gd. 

For  the  Conway  Bridge  id. 

"    "    Menai        "  id. 

Sea  postage  2d. 


In  1820,  the  sea  rate  between  Portpatrick  and  Donaghadee  had  been  raised  by  2d. 
for  a  single  letter,  between  Liverpool  and  the  Port  of  Douglas  by  4^.  (i  Geo.  IV,  c.  89; 
3  Geo.  IV,  c.  105). 

*  7  and  8  Geo.  IV,  c.  21;  i  and  2  Geo.  IV,  c.  35,  sees.  19-20;  6  Geo.  IV,  c.  28. 

8  6  and  7  Wm.  IV,  c.  5. 

4  Ace.  fir  P.,  1837,  1.  106.  Rates  on  foreign  letters  before,  and  after  the  French 
treaty:  — 

Between  England  and 

France 
Italy  ] 

Turkey 
Ionian  Isles  J 
Spain 

by  packet 
Portugal  via  France 

by  packet 

Germany  via  France 
Switzerland 
Holland 
Belgium 
Russia 
Prussia 
Norway 
Sweden 


Before  After 
I4d.    lod. 

23       19 

26       19 
26       26 
26       19 
30      30 

20          14 
20          14 

16       16 
16       16 

20         20 

Between  England  and 
Denmark     1 
Germany     j 
Gibraltar 
Malta 
Ionian  Isles 
Greece 
Egypt 
Brazil 
Buenos  Ayres 
Madeira 
Mexico         ] 
Havana 
Colombia     J 
San  Domingo 
United  States  1 
and  foreign      r 
West  Indies    J 

Before  After 

2od.    2od. 
34       34 

38       38 

42      42 
42      41 

36      27 
26       27 
26       26 

-156      THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

reckoning  postage  differed  from  the  English  rule  and  was  as  follows: 
One  sheet  of  paper  not  exceeding  an  ounce  in  weight  and  every 
letter  not  exceeding  one  quarter  of  an  ounce  were  single  letters. 
1  Every  letter  with  one  enclosure  only  and  not  exceeding  an  ounce 
in  weight  was  a  double  letter.  Every  letter  containing  more  than 
one  enclosure  and  not  exceeding  half  an  ounce  was  a  double  letter. 
If  it  exceeded  half  an  ounce  but  not  an  ounce  in  weight,  it  was  a 
triple  letter.  If  it  exceeded  an  ounce,  it  paid  as  four  single  letters 
and  for  every  quarter  of  an  ounce  above  one  ounce  it  paid  an  addi- 
tional single  letter  rate.1  The  sender  of  a  letter  from  Great  Britain 
to  France  had  the  option  of  prepaying  the  whole  postage,  British 
and  foreign,  or  the  British  alone,  or  neither.2 

In  1837,  an  act  of  Parliament  was  passed,  consolidating  previous 
acts  for  the  regulation  of  postage  rates  within  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland,  between  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  and  between  the  United 
Kingdom  and  the  colonies  and  foreign  countries.  The  rates  within 
Great  Britain  remained  the  same  as  those  established  by  the  act 
of  1812,  including  the  additional  half  penny  on  letters  conveyed  by 
mail  coaches  in  Scotland.  In  Ireland  the  rates  existing  since  1814 
still  held  and  between  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  the  rates  estab- 
lished by  7  and  8  Geo.  IV,  c.  21. 

The  rates  for  letters  between  the  United  Kingdom  and  foreign 
countries  through  France  and  those  conveyed  directly  between  the 
United  Kingdom  and  France  remained  tne  same  as  had  been  agreed 
upon  by  the  Treaty  of  1836.  Some  of  the  more  important  of  the 
other  rates  were  as  follows :  — 

To  Italy,  Sicily,  Venetian  Lombardy,  Malta,  the  Ionian  Islands, 
Greece,  Turkey,  the  Levant,  the  Archipelago,  Syria,  and  Egypt 
through  Belgium,  Holland,  or  Germany,  2od.  for  a  single  letter. 
Between  the  United  Kingdom  and  Portugal,  igd.  for  a  single  letter. 

Single  letter 

To  or  from  Gibraltar  23^. 

To  or  from  Malta,  the  Ionian  Islands,  Greece,  Syria,  and  Egypt    27^. 

1  This  followed  to  a  certain  extent  the  French  system  of  charging  postage,  which 
depended  more  upon  weight  and  less  upon  the  number  of  enclosures  than  the  Eng- 
lish method. 

2  7  Wm.  IV  and  i  Viet.,  c.  34. 


RATES  AND   FINANCE  157 

Single  letter 

Between  Gibraltar  (not  having  been  first  conveyed  there  from 
the  United  Kingdom)  and  Malta,  the  Ionian  Islands,  Greece, 

Syria,  or  Egypt 1  Sd. 

Between  the  United  Kingdom  and  Madeira  2od. 

Between  the  United  Kingdom  and  the  West  Indies,  Colombia, 

and  Mexico  2$d.' 

Between  the  United  Kingdom  and  Brazil  $id. 

Between  the  United  Kingdom  and  Buenos  Ayres  29^. 

Between  the  United  Kingdom  and  San  Domingo  i$d. 

Between  the  British  West  Indies  and  Colombia  or  Mexico  i2d. 

Letters  between  the  United  Kingdom  and  Germany,  Belgium, 
Holland,  Switzerland,  Spain,  Sweden,  and  Norway  were  charged  in 
addition  the  same  postage  as  if  they  had  been  sent  from  or  to  Lon- 
don. Letters  from  and  to  France  paid  no  additional  postage.  All 
letters  to  and  from  non-commissioned  officers,  privates  and  seamen 
while  in  actual  service  were  still  carried  for  one  penny  each,  payable 
in  advance,  but  letters  sent  by  them  from  Ceylon,  the  East  Indies, 
Mauritius,  and  the  Cape  were  charged  an  additional  2d.  payable 
by  the  receiver.2 

After  the  transferrence  of  the  packet  boats  to  the  Admiralty 
in  1837,  the  Postmaster-General  was  authorized  to  charge  regular 
packet  rates  for  the  conveyance  of  letters  by  such  ships  as  he  had 
contracted  with  for  such  conveyance.  He  might  also  forward  let- 
ters by  any  ships  and  collect  the  following  rates  for  each  single 
letter :- 

When  the  letter  was  posted  in  the  place  from  which  the 
ship  sailed  except  when  sailing  between  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland  Sd. 

If  posted  anywhere  else  in  the  United  Kingdom  i2d. 

Between  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  in  addition  to  inland 
rates  Sd. 

For  a  single  letter  coming  into  the  United  Kingdom 
except  from  Ceylon,  the  East  Indies,  Mauritius,  and 
the  Cape  in  addition  to  inland  rates  Sd. 

1  In  1838,  it  was  enacted  that  the  postage  on  a  single  letter  (not  from  the  United 
Kingdom  or  going  there)  between  any  two  Mediterranean  ports  or  from  a  Mediter- 
ranean port  to  the  East  Indies  should  be  6d.  via  the  Red  Sea  or  Persian  Gulf.    The 
Gibraltar  rate  remained  the  same  (i  and  2  Viet.,  c.  97). 

2  7  Wm.  IV  and  i  Viet.,  c.  34. 


158  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

For  letters  from  Ceylon,  the  East  Indies,  Mauritius,  and 
the  Cape  in  addition  to  inland  rates  — 
If  not  exceeding  3  ounces  in  weight  qd. 

If  exceeding  3  ounces  in  weight  i2d.  an  oz. 

For  letters  delivered  to  the  Post  Office  to  be  sent  to 
Ceylon,  the  East  Indies,  Mauritius,  and  the  Cape  in 
addition  to  all  inland  rates  — 

If  not  exceeding  3  ounces  in  weight  2 d. 

If  exceeding  3  ounces  in  weight  i2d.  an  oz.1 

The  end  of  high  postage  rates  was  now  at  hand.  In  1839,  the 
Treasury  was  empowered  to  change  the  rating  according  to  the 
weight  of  the  letter  or  package,2  and  they  proceeded  to  do  so  in 
the  case  of  letters  from  one  country  to  another  passing  through 
the  United  Kingdom,  between  any  two  colonies,  between  any  South 
American  ports,  and  between  such  ports  and  Madeira  and  the 
Canaries.3  Parliament  followed  up  the  good  work  in  1840  by 
enacting  that  in  future  all  letters,  packages,  etc.  should  be  charged 
by  weight  alone,  according  to  the  following  scheme:  — 

i  On  every  letter  or  package,  etc.  — 
.  Not  exceeding  %  ounce  in  weight,  one  rate  of  postage. 
Exceeding   ^  ounce  but  not  exceeding  i  ounce,  2  rates  of  postage. 

1  "      "      "  2  ounces,  4    "     "       " 

2  ounces"     "        "         3      "       6    "     "       " 

«         «        n  it  if          o      a       «          (i 

For  every  ounce  above  four  ounces,  two  additional  rates  of  postage, 
and  for  every  fraction  of  an  ounce  above  four  ounces  as  for  one 
additional  ounce.  No  letter  or  package  exceeding  one  pound  in 
weight  was  to  be  sent  through  the  Post  Office  except  petitions  and 
addresses  to  the  Queen,  or  to  either  House  of  Parliament,  or  in  such 
cases  as  the  Treasury  Lords  might  order  by  warrant.4 

1  7  Wm.  IV  and  i  Viet.,  c.  34.  2  2  and  3  Viet.,  c.  52. 

»  Ace.  &•  P.,  1841,  xxvi,  53,  pp.  1-7. 

4  Additional  exceptions  were  made  later  in  the  case  of 

1.  Reissuable  country  bank  notes  delivered  at  the  General  Post  Office  in 

London. 

2.  Deeds,  legal  proceedings  and  papers. 

3.  Letters  to  and  from  places  beyond  the  seas. 

4.  Letters  to  and  from  any  government  office  or  department  (or  to  and  from 
any  person  having  the  franking  privilege  by  virtue  of  his  office).  Ace.  6*  P. 
1841,  xxvi,  53,  p.  4. 


RATES  AND   FINANCE  159 

On  all  letters  not  exceeding  a  half-ounce  in  weight  transmitted  by 
the  Post  between  places  in  the  United  Kingdom  (not  being  letters 
sent  to  or  from  places  beyond  the  seas,  or  posted  in  any  post  town 
to  be  delivered  within  that  town)  there  was  charged  a  uniform  rate 
of  one  penny.  For  all  letters  exceeding  a  half -ounce  in  weight,  ad- 
ditional rates  were  charged  according  to  the  foregoing  scheme, 
each  additional  rate  for  letters  exceeding  one  ounce  in  weight  be- 
ing fixed  at  2d.1 

The  rates  for  colonial  letters  were  also  adjusted  according  to 
weight  as  follows:  Between  any  place  in  the  United  Kingdom 
and  any  port  in  the  colonies  and  India  (except  when  passing 
through  France)  for  a  letter  not  exceeding  half  an  ounce  in  weight, 
15.  Between  any  of  the  colonies  through  the  United  Kingdom,  2$. 
If  such  letters  exceeded  half  an  ounce  in  weight,  they  were  charged 
additional  rates  according  to  the  table  already  given,  the  rate  for  a 
letter  not  exceeding  half  an  ounce  being  taken  as  the  basis. 

The  rates  for  letters  to  and  from  foreign  countries  were  much 
the  same  as  they  had  been  before  the  passage  of  this  act,  except 
that  instead  of  the  initial  charge  being  made  for  a  single  letter,  it 
was  now  reckoned  for  a  letter  not  exceeding  half  an  ounce  in  weight. 
The  rates  for  letters  to  and  from  France  were  graded  according  to  the 
distance  they  were  carried  in  England,  the  lowest  rate  for  a  letter 
not  more  than  half  an  ounce  in  weight  being  $d.  to  Dover  or  the 
port  of  arrival,  the  highest  rate  being  lod.  to  any  place  distant 
more  than  fifty  miles  from  Dover.2 

The  franking  privilege  may  reasonably  be  considered  in  connec- 
tion with  the  history  of  postal  rates,  nor  should  its  effect  in  reducing 
the  revenue  of  the  Post  Office  be  neglected.  The  Council  of  State 
gave  orders  in  1652  that  all  public  packets,  letters  of  members  of 
Parliament,  of  the  Council,  of  officers  in  the  public  service,  and  of 
any  persons  acting  in  a  public  capacity  should  be  carried  free.  This 
is  the  first  record  that  we  have  concerning  the  free  carriage  of 
members'  letters,  a  privilege  which  later  gave  so  much  trouble  and 
was  so  much  abused.3  The  next  year  the  Post  Office  farmers  agreed 
to  carry  free  all  letters  to  and  from  members  of  Parliament  pro- 

1  Double  rates  were  charged  when  the  postage  was  paid  on  delivery. 

2  3  and  4  Viet.,  c.  96.  «  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1651-52,  p.  507- 


160   THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

vided  that  letters  written  by  such  members  as  were  not  known  by 
their  seals  should  be  endorsed,  "  These  are  for  the  service  of  the 
Commonwealth/'  and  signed  by  the  members  themselves  or  their 
clerks.1  Nothing  was  said  in  the  act  of  1660  about  the  conveyance 
of  the  letters  of  members  of  Parliament  and  they  were  carried  free 
only  by  act  of  grace.  The  House  of  Commons  had  passed  a  clause 
of  the  bill  providing  for  the  free  conveyance  of  the  letters  of  mem- 
bers of  their  own  House.  This  had  exasperated  the  Lords,  who, 
since  they  could  not  amend  the  clause  so  as  to  extend  the  privilege 
to  themselves,  had  dropped  it.2  In  1693,  the  attention  of  Cotton 
and  Frankland  was  called  to  the  manner  in  which  franking  was 
being  abused.  Men  claimed  the  right  to  frank  letters  to  whom  the 
Postmasters-General  denied  it,  and  members  of  Parliament  were 
accused  of  bad  faith  in  the  exercise  of  their  privilege.  The  custom 
had  arisen  of  enclosing  private  letters  in  the  packet  of  official  let- 
ters. A  warrant  was  issued  in  1693  to  the  effect  that  in  future  no 
letters  were  to  go  free  except  those  on  the  King's  affairs,  and  the 
only  persons  to  send  or  receive  them  free  were  the  two  principal 
Secretaries  of  State,  the  Secretary  for  Scotland,  the  Secretary  in 
Holland,  the  Earl  of  Portland,  and  members  of  Parliament,  the 
latter  only  during  the  session,  and  for  forty  days  before  and  after, 
and  for  inland  letters  alone.  Each  member  was  to  write  his  name 
in  a  book  with  his  seal  so  that  no  one  might  be  able  to  counterfeit 
his  signature.3 

We  learn  from  Hicks'  letters  that  it  was  customary  for  clerks  in 
the  Post  Office  at  London  to  send  gazettes  to  their  correspondents 
in  the  country  free  of  charge.  These  gazettes  or  news  letters  were 
supplied  by  the  Treasury  and,  as  2 d.  or  $d.  apiece  was  paid  for  them 
by  the  recipients,  the  privilege  was  greatly  esteemed.4  The  Dep- 
uty Postmaster- General  wished  to  abolish  the  privilege,  but  Hicks 
himself,  who  was  one  of  the  favoured  officials,  was  quite  indignant 
at  the  suggestion.5  The  principle  was  bad,  but  as  the  receipts  for 
gazettes  formed  a  necessary  part  of  the  clerks'  salaries,  Hicks  can- 

1  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1652-53,  p.  449. 

2  Parliamentary  History  of  England,  iv  (1660-88),  col.  163. 

3  Cal.  T.  P.,  1557-1696,  p.  281. 

4  Cal.  T.  B.  &•  P.,  1731-34,  PP-  208,  210,  218,  268. 
6  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1667,  p.  248. 


RATES  AND  FINANCE  l6l 

not  be  blamed  for  protesting  against  abolition  without  compensa- 
tion. James  II  expressed  a  desire  that  the  practice  should  be  discon- 
tinued, but  when  it  was  shown  to  him  that  the  salaries  of  the  clerks 
must  be  raised  if  his  wishes  were  obeyed,  his  proposition  was 
promptly  withdrawn.1 

The  abuses  of  the  privilege  of  franking  were  very  pronounced 
during  the  eighteenth  century.  The  system  of  patronage  which  the 
members  of  Parliament  then  exercised  made  them  reluctant  to 
offend  any  of  their  constituents,  who  might  entrench  upon  their 
peculiar  privileges.  Members'  names  were  forged  to  letters  and 
they  made  no  complaint.  Letters  from  the  country  were  sent  to 
them  to  be  re-addressed  under  their  own  signatures.  The  Postmas- 
ters-General admonished  them  more  than  once,  but,  as  a  rule,  the 
members  disclaimed  all  knowledge  of  abuses.  Men  were  so  bold  as 
to  order  letters  to  be  sent  under  a  member's  name  to  coffee-houses, 
where  they  presented  themselves  and  demanded  the  letters  so  ad- 
dressed. In  1715,  on  receiving  renewed  complaints  from  the  Post- 
masters-General, it  was  ordered  by  the  House  that  henceforth  no 
member  should  frank  a  letter  unless  the  address  were  written  en- 
tirely in  his  own  hand.  This  was  expected  to  prevent  members  from 
franking  letters  sent  to  them  by  friends.  It  was  also  ordered  that  no 
letter  addressed  to  a  member  should  pass  free  unless  such  member 
was  actually  residing  at  the  place  to  which  the  letter  was  addressed. 
In  the  third  place,  no  member  was  to  'frank  a  newspaper  unless 
it  was  entirely  in  print.  This  was  to  prevent  the  franking  of  long 
written  communications  passing  as  newspapers,  for  the  members  of 
Parliament  in  sending  and  receiving  letters  free  were  restricted  to 
such  as  did  not  exceed  two  ounces  in  weight,  but  they  were  not  so 
restricted  in  the  case  of  newspapers.2  According  to  the  Surveyor's 
report,  the  loss  from  the  ministers'  franks  in  1717  was  £8270  and 
from  the  members'  franks  £i7,47o.3  The  loss  from  franking  was 
proportionately  much  greater  in  Ireland  than  in  England.  In  1718 
the  Irish  Parliament  sat  only  three  months,  in  1719  nine  months, 
and  in  Ireland  as  in  England,  members  of  Parliament  received  and 
sent  their  letters  free  only  during  the  session  and  forty  days  before 

1  Cal  S.  P.  D.,  1666-67,  P-  386.  z  Jo.  H.  C.,  1714-18,  p.  303. 

1  Cal.  T.  P.,  1714-19,  P-  287.  > 


1 62      THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

and  after  it.  The  following  is  part  of  the  report  submitted  by  the 
Postmasters-General  to  the  Lords  of  the  Treasury  for  these  two 

years:  — 

1718  1719 

Gross  Produce  from  Letters  £14,592        £19,522 

Charge  of  Management  and  Members'  Letters         11,526  18,768 

Net  Produce  from  Letters *  3,066  754 

Under  the  charges  of  management  is  included  the  charge  for  carrying 
members'  letters  as  reckoned  proportionately  to  the  charge  for  the 
letters  which  paid,  together  with  the  actual  charge  for  the  pay  letters. 
The  net  produce  during  the  three  months'  session  was  £3006,  dur- 
ing the  nine  months'  session  only  £753.  In  1 734  the  old  orders  about 
the  maximum  weight  of  two  ounces  and  the  requirement  for  the 
whole  superscription  to  be  in  the  member's  own  writing  were  re- 
peated in  a  royal  proclamation.  In  addition  it  was  ordered  that 
any  letters  sent  under  cover  to  any  member  of  Parliament  or  high 
official  of  state,  to  be  forwarded  by  him,  should  be  sent  to  the  Gen- 
eral Post  Office  to  be  taxed.2  It  could  hardly  be  expected  that  this 
order  would  be  obeyed,  for  there  was  no  method  of  enforcing  it. 

In  1735,  the  House  of  Commons  instituted  an  enquiry  into 
the  whole  question  of  franking  and  summoned  various  Post  Office 
officials  before  them  to  give  evidence.  An  estimate  was  laid  be- 
fore them  of  the  amount  lost  each  year  by  carrying  franked  let- 
ters. This  estimate  was  obtained  by  weighing  the  franked  let- 
ters at  intervals  during  the  session  of  Parliament,  and  comparing 
their  weight  with  the  weight  of  the  letters  which  paid  postage.  As 
the  total  revenue  from  the  latter  was  known,  the  amount  which 
was  lost  on  the  former  was  guessed.  The  House  expressed  very  little 
confidence  in  the  estimated  amounts,  and  certainly  it  was  a  rough 
way  of  attaining  the  object  aimed  at,  but  perhaps  they  were  pre- 
judiced from  the  strength  of  the  case  against  them.3  Expressed  in 
yearly  averages,  the  amounts  by  which  the  revenue  was  reduced  by 
franking  were:  — 

1716-19        £17,460  1725-29          32,364 

1720-24          23,726  1730-33          3M64 

i  Col.  T.  P.,  1720-28,  p.  77.         *  Jo.  H.  C.,  1732-37,  P.  393-        *  Ibid.,  1732-37- 


RATES  AND  FINANCE  163 

The  system  of  ascertaining  forged  franks  and  of  discovering  en- 
closures was  as  follows:  a  Supervisor  of  the  Franks  charged  all 
letters,  franked  by  a  member's  name,  coming  from  any  place,  when 
he  knew  that  the  member  was  not  there.  Very  often  by  holding 
them  in  front  of  a  candle,  he  could  see  enclosures  inside  directed  to 
other  people.  If  he  was  in  doubt  he  generally  charged  the  letter,  for 
if  it  should  pay,  all  well  and  good,  and  if  he  had  made  a  mistake,  the 
amount  was  refunded  to  the  member.  The  Supervisor  had  noticed 
that  the  number  of  franked  letters  had  increased  with  every  session 
of  Parliament,  and  some  of  the  ex-members  also  attempted  to  frank 
letters.  The  evidence  of  the  Supervisor,  especially  his  description 
of  the  manner  in  which  he  attempted  to  discover  enclosures,  was 
exceedingly  distasteful  to  the  House.  The  members  themselves 
were  to  blame  for  many  of  the  abuses  attendant  upon  the  system, 
and  yet  they  contended  that  they  were  the  unwilling  victims  of 
others.  A  resolution  was  adopted  that  it  was  an  infringement  upon 
the  privileges  of  the  knights,  citizens,  and  burgesses  chosen  to  re- 
present the  people  of  Great  Britain  in  Parliament,  for  any  post- 
master, his  deputies  or  agents  to  open  or  look  into  any  letter 
addressed  to  or  signed  by  a  member  of  Parliament,  unless  em- 
powered so  to  do  by  a  warrant  issued  by  one  of  the  Secre- 
taries of  State.  In  addition  no  postmaster  or  his  deputies  should 
delay  or  detain  any  letter  directed  to  or  by  any  member  unless 
there  should  be  good  reason  to  suppose  that  the  frank  was  a  coun- 
terfeit.1 

The  restrictions  adopted  to  curtail  the  abuse  of  the  franking 
privilege  had  but  little  effect.  A  regular  business  sprang  up  for 
selling  counterfeit  franks.  The  House  of  Lords  ordered  one  person 
accused  of  selling  them  to  come  before  the  bar  of  the  House  for 
examination,  but  he  failed  to  present  himself.2  Another  confessed 
before  the  Upper  House  that  he  had  counterfeited  one  of  the  Lords' 
names  on  certain  covers  of  letters  showed  to  him  and  had  then  sold 
them.  He  expressed  sorrow  for  the  offence,  which  necessity  had 
driven  him  to  commit.  He  was  sent  to  Newgate.3  The  abuses  of  the 

1  Jo.  H.  C.,  i732-37,  P-  476. 

2  Jo.H.L.,  1736-41,  p.  259. 
»  Ibid.,  p.  529. 


1 64     THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

franking  system  were  so  patent1  that  Allen  was  told  that  he  might 
withdraw  from  his  contract  to  farm  the  bye  and  cross  post  letters 
on  three  months'  notice  being  given.2 

The  revenue  from  the  Post  Office  was  surrendered  by  the  Crown 
at  the  beginning  of  George  the  Third's  reign  in  exchange  for  a  Civil 
List  from  the  Aggregate  Fund  as  it  was  then  called.3  While  the 
Post  Office  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  King,  it  was  only  by  special 
grant  on  his  part  that  the  members  of  Parliament  had  been  allowed 
to  send  and  receive  letters  free.  Accordingly  in  1763,  an  act  was 
passed  for  the  purpose  of  giving  parliamentary  sanction  to  the 
privilege.  This  act  repeated  the  principal  points  in  the  King's 
proclamation  and  in  the  Parliament's  previous  resolutions  on  the 
subject.  All  letters  or  packets  sent  to  or  by  the  King,  the  ministers 
and  the  higher  Post  Office  officials  were  to  go  free.  The  ministers 
might  appoint  others  to  frank  their  letters,  whose  names  must  be 
forwarded  to  the  Postmaster- General.  Those  sending  letters  free 
must  sign  their  names  on  the  outside  and  themselves  write  the  ad- 
dress. No  letters  to  or  from  any  member  of  Parliament  should  go 
free  unless  they  were  sent  during  the  session  or  within  forty  days  be- 
fore or  after,  and  the  whole  superscription  must  be  in  the  member's 
own  hand  or  directed  to  him  at  his  usual  place  of  residence  or  at 
the  House.  All  letters  in  excess  of  two  ounces  in  weight  must  pay 
postage.  Printed  votes,  proceedings  in  Parliament,  and  newspapers 
should  go  free  when  sent  to  a  member  or  signed  on  the  outside  by 
him,  provided  they  were  sent  without  covers  or  with  covers  open 
at  the  ends.  The  privileges  of  franking  votes,  proceedings  in  Parlia- 
ment, and  newspapers,  were  continued  to  the  clerks  in  the  Post 
Office  and  in  the  Secretaries  of  State's  offices.  The  Postmasters- 
General  and  their  deputies  were  given  authority  to  search  news- 
papers which  had  no  covers  or  covers  open  at  the  ends  and  to 
charge  them  if  there  were  writing  or  enclosures  in  them.  Finally, 
any  person  who  counterfeited  a  member's  name  on  any  letter  or 

1  One  man  in  five  months  counterfeited  14,400  franks  of  members  of  Parliament. 
Counterfeits  of  names  of  27  members  were  shown.  A  regular  trade  in  buying  and  sell- 
ing them  had  sprung  up  (Jo.  H.  C.,  1761-64,  p.  998). 

Several  Lords  certified  that  their  names  had  been  counterfeited.  Lord  Dacre's 
name  had  been  counterfeited  504  times  (Jo.  H.  L.t  1760-64,  p.  534). 

2  Col.  T.  B.  fir  P.,  1739-41,  P-  450.  3  Joyce,  p.  189. 


RATES  AND  FINANCE  165 

package  for  the  purpose  of  avoiding  the  payment  of  postage,  was 
guilty  of  felony  and  liable  to  transportation  for  seven  years.1  J 
The  year  following  the  passing  of  this  act,  the  House  of  Commons 
called  for  returns  relating  to  the  franking  system.  Besides  the 
members  of  Parliament,  the  ministers,  and  the  Post  Office  officials, 
to  whom  the  franking  privilege  had  been  granted  by  the  King's 
warrant  and  by  the  late  act,  almost  all  who  were  in  any  way  con- 
nected with  the  Government  claimed  the  right  to  send  or  receive 
letters  free,  even  to  the  Deputy  Serjeant-at-Arms.  The  amount 
which  newspapers  would  have  paid  if  there  had  been  no  franking 

privilege  was  first  given  for  the  week  ending  March  13,  1764. 

> 

Members'  States'  Post  Office  Clerks' 

£465  £310 


These  amounts  were  obtained  by  weighing  the  newspapers  and,  as 
this  was  the  manner  in  which  they  would  have  been  rated,  the  re- 
sults may  be  considered  as  fairly  correct.  The  idea  being  to  esti- 
mate the  loss  from  members'  and  states'  franks  only,  the  franking 
by  Post  Office  clerks  does  not  enter  into  the  following  calculation. 
It  was  judged  from  the  figures  given  above  that  the  Post  Office 
carried  free  every  year  enough  newspapers  franked  by  members 
and  state  officials  to  produce  £40,000  if  they  had  been  taxed  at  the 
ordinary  rates.2  An  attempt  to  arrive  at  the  same  result  in  another 
way  was  also  made.  The  sum  total  which  would  have  been  paid 
on  all  members'  and  ministers'  letters,  newspapers,  and  parcels 
arriving  at  or  departing  from  London  in  1763  was  £140,000.  Of 
this  amount  £85,000  would  have  been  paid  on  all  mail  leaving 
London,  and  £55,000  on  all  mail  arriving  in  London.  The  difference 
in  favour  of  the  outgoing  mail  was  judged  to  be  due  to  the  news- 
papers, all  of  which  were  printed  in  London  and  sent  to  the  country. 
This  would  give  a  loss  of  £30,000  on  newspapers,  and  £110,000  on 
letters.3 

Returns  were  also  submitted,  showing  the  gross  amount  of  the 
inland  postage  for  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  including  the  amount 
which  the  franked  letters  and  papers  would  have  paid  if  they  had 
all  been  charged,  the  actual  gross  product  and  the  difference  be- 

1  4  Geo.  Ill,  c.  24.       2  Jo.  H.  C.,  1761-64,  pp.  1000-1001.       8  Ibid.,  p.  999. 


1 66      THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

tween  the  two.  This  difference  would,  of  course,  be  the  estimated 
charge  on  all  the  free  matter.  These  figures  are  given  from  1715 
to  1763.  Roughly  speaking,  in  fifty  years  franked  letters  and 
papers  increased  700  per  cent  while  pay  letters  increased  only 
50  per  cent.  In  1715  one  fifth  as  many  free  letters  and  newspapers 
as  those  which  paid  went  through  the  mail.  In  1763  there  were 
eleven  twelfths  as  many  free  letters  and  papers.1  It  will  be  seen 
that  the  assumption  is  that  the  postage  which  this  free  matter 
might  have  paid  represented  the  loss  suffered  by  the  Post  Office. 
Now  this  is  not  so,  because  it  did  not  cost  the  Post  Office  so  much 
to  convey  letters  and  papers  as  the  ordinary  rates  would  have  paid 
them.  In  the  second  place  the  Postal  authorities  considered  the 
£140,000  as  so  much  actually  lost,  whereas  if  charges  had  been 
enforced  on  the  free  matter,  a  much  smaller  amount  would  have 
been  sent.  This  is  entirely  apart  from  the  rough  and  ready  manner 
in  which  the  figures  were  obtained.  Enough  was  shown,  however, 
to  prove  that  the  franking  system  was  a  burden  to  the  country  and 
an  imposition  upon  the  Post  Office. 

In  Ireland,  Parliament  met  as  a  rule  only  during  the  even  years 
or  if  it  met  every  year,  the  sessions  in  the  odd  years  were  very 
short.  For  the  five  even  years  from  1753  to  1762,  the  expenses 
averaged  for  each  year  £3306  over  the  receipts,  while  during  the 
five  odd  years,  the  receipts  were  greater  than  the  expenditures  by  a 
yearly  average  of  £2249.  These  general  results  held  good  for  every 
individual  odd  or  even  year  for  the  period  for  which  returns  were 
given.2 

Attempts  continued  to  be  made  by  members  of  the  House  of 
Commons  to  diminish  the  abuses  arising  from  franking.  There  had 
been  some  misunderstanding  as  to  whether  they  were  entitled  to 
have  ship's  letters  delivered  free  to  them.  Of  course  they  were  ex- 
empt from  the  inland  postage  on  such  letters,  but  for  every  letter 
brought  into  the  country  by  vessels  other  than  packets,  the  master 
was  paid  one  penny  and  this  penny  was  collected  from  the  person 
to  whom  the  letter  was  delivered.  The  members  finally  agreed  to 
pay  the  extra  penny.3 

Acts  were  now  introduced  to  enable  the  Commander-in-Chief, 

1  Jo.  H.  C,  p.  999.         2  Ibid.,  1761-64,  p.  1001.         3  Ibid.,  1780-82,  p.  537. 


RATES  AND  FINANCE  167 

the  Adjutant- General,  and  the  Controller  of  Accounts  of  the  Royal 
forces  to  receive  and  send  letters  free.  Both  bills  passed.1  It  is 
some  consolation  that  the  Lord  Chancellor  and  Judges  failed  to 
obtain  the  franking  privilege  although  a  bill  was  introduced  in  the 
Commons  in  their  behalf.2 

It  was  enacted  in  1784  that  a  member  must  write  on  his  free  let- 
ters not  only  his  name  and  address  but  also  the  name  of  the  post 
town  from  which  they  were  to  be  sent  and  the  day  of  the  month 
and  the  year  when  they  were  posted.3  The  object  of  this  restriction 
could  be  easily  evaded  by  enclosing  postdated  letters  to  their  con- 
stituents but,  after  the  passage  of  this  resolution,  a  considerable 
decrease  resulted  in  the  number  of  free  letters  to  and  from  members.4 
When  the  Irish  was  separated  from  the  English  Post  Office,  the 
privilege  of  franking  newspapers  to  Ireland  was  taken  away  and  a 
rate  of  one  penny  a  newspaper  was  imposed,  payable  in  advance. 
This  meant  a  loss  to  the  clerks  in  the  Secretaries'  offices  but  this 
was  made  good  to  them  by  an  addition  of  £1000  a  year  to  their 
salaries.5 

;  In  1795,  the  members  of  Parliament  made  another  attempt  to 
limit  their  own  as  well  as  the  free  writing  proclivities  of  others.  The 
maximum  weight  of  a  free  letter  to  or  from  a  member  was  lowered 
from  two  ounces  to  one.  No  letter  directed  by  a  member  should  go 
free  unless  the  member  so  directing  it  should  be  within  twenty 
miles  of  the  place  where  it  was  posted  either  on  the  day  on  which 
it  was  posted  or  the  day  before.  No  member  should  send  more 
than  ten  or  receive  more  than  fifteen  free  letters  a  day.  Votes  and 
proceedings  in  Parliament  when  addressed  to  or  by  members  of 
Parliament  were  exempted  from  the  provisions  of  this  Act.6 

"*  22  Geo.  Ill,  c.  70;  23  Geo.  Ill,  c.  69.  2  Jo.  H.  C.,  1790-91,  p.  468. 

3  Ibid.,  1784-85,  p.  383.  The  Lords  also  agreed  to  this  resolution  (ibid.,  p.  411;  24 
Geo.  Ill,  sess.  2,  c.  37). 

4  For  the  years  1783  and  1784,  the  number  of  free  letters  arriving  in  London,  ex- 
clusive of  the  state's  letters,  averaged  over  800,000  a  year  and  those  sent  from  London 
averaged  over  1,000,000.  In  1785,  they  had  fallen  to  514,000  and  713,000  respectively 
(ParL  Papers,  1812-13,  Rep.  Com.,  ii,  222,  p.  95). 

5  24  Geo.  Ill,  c.  6;  Jo.  H.  C.,  1795-96,  p.  588. 
•  35  Geo.  Ill,  c.  53. 

After  1786  the  number  of  franked  letters  had  gradually  increased  until  checked  by 
this  act.  In  1795  the  number  of  franked  letters  delivered  in  London  was  1,045,000, 


1 68     THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

The  restrictions  upon  the  franking  privilege  enjoyed  by  members 
of  Parliament  were  re-enacted  in  1802  with  some  additions.  The 
number  of  free  letters  which  a  member  might  receive  and  send 
in  one  day  having  been  limited  to  twenty-five,  it  was  decided  that 
these  twenty-five  so  excepted  from  the  payment  of  postage  should 
be  those  on  which  the  charges  were  the  highest,  provided  that  none 
of  them  exceeded  an  ounce  in  weight.  The  high  officials  of  state, 
the  clerks  of  Parliament,  certain  clerks  of  the  Commons  and  Lords, 
the  Treasurer  and  Paymaster  of  the  Navy,  the  Lord  Chancellor, 
certain  officials  in  Ireland,  and  two  persons  appointed  by  the  Post- 
master-General of  Ireland  were  allowed  to  send  letters  free.1  The 
members  and  clerks  of  both  Houses  were  allowed  to  send  news- 
papers free  provided  that  they  were  enclosed  in  covers  open  at  both 
ends.  The  same  rule  held  for  votes  and  proceedings  in  Parliament.2 
The  same  franking  privileges  were  extended  to  Irish  officials.3 

From  1806  to  1819  there  was  a  large  extension  of  the  franking 
privilege  to  various  officials.  During  that  time  sixteen  statutes  and 
parts  of  statutes  were  enacted  in  behalf  of  various  persons  from 
the  Lord  High  Chancellor  to  the  Controller  of  the  Barrack's  De- 
partment and  the  Commissioners  of  the  parliamentary  grant  for 
building  churches.  Sir  Robert  Buxton,  a  member  of  Parliament, 
thought  that  it  would  be  well  for  his  fellow  members  to  give  up 
their  privilege  in  order  to  help  the  finances  of  the  country.  Wind- 
ham  disagreed  on  the  ground  that  it  kept  up  communications 
between  a  member  and  his  constituents  and  encouraged  literary 
correspondence  which  would  otherwise  decline.  Pitt  justified  it,  in 
that  it  enabled  members  to  carry  on  the  important  business  of  their 
constituents  and  did  not  result  in  much  loss  to  the  state.4 

the  number  sent  from  London  1,195,000.  In  1796,  the  inward  and  outward  free  let- 
ters amounted  to  737,000  and  787,000  respectively.  In  1797  the  numbers  were  696,- 
ooo  and  721,000.  These  restricting  acts  of  1784  and  1795  had  a  more  important  effect 
than  Joyce  leads  us  to  suppose  (Part.  Papers,  1812-13,  Rep.  Com.,  ii,  222,  p.  95). 

1  Those  officials  in  the  General  Post  Office  who  had  no  franking  privilege  were  re- 
imbursed the  amount  of  postage  paid  by  them  on  inland  single  letters  (Rep.  Commrs., 
1837,  xxxiv,  8th  rep.,  app.,  no.  2).  z  42  Geo.  Ill,  c.  63.  3  43  Geo.  Ill,  c.  28. 

4  Parl.  Deb.,  ist  ser.,  iii,  col.  570.  The  following  are  a  few  of  the  statutes  enacted 
which  extended  franking:  46  Geo.  Ill,  c.6i;  50  Geo.  Ill,  c.  65,  sec.  19;  c.  66;  51  Geo. 
Ill,  c.  i6,sec.i7;  52Geo.III,  c.  132,  sec.i6;c.  146,  sec.  n;  53  Geo.  Ill,  c.  13;  54 Geo. 
Ill,  c.  169;  55  Geo.  Ill,  c.  i,  sec.  10;  c.  60,  sees.  41-42 ;  56  Geo.  Ill,  c.  98,  sec.  24, 


RATES  AND   FINANCE  169 

It  had  always  been  customary  to  charge  letter  rates  for  the  con- 
veyance of  newspapers  to  foreign  countries  and  to  the  colonies. 
Members  of  Parliament,  however,  had  the  privilege  of  franking 
newspapers  within  the  United  Kingdom,  the  clerks  of  the  Foreign 
Office  franked  them  to  foreign  countries,  and  the  Secretary  of  the 
Post  Office  franked  them  to  the  colonies.  In  1825  it  was  enacted 
that  members  need  no  longer  sign  their  names  to  newspapers 
franked  by  them,  or  give  notice  of  the  names  of  the  places  to  which 
they  intended  to  send  them.1  This  virtually  provided  for  the  free 
transmission  of  newspapers  within  the  United  Kingdom.  At  the 
same  time  it  was  provided  that  the  rate  for  newspapers,  votes  and 
parliamentary  proceedings  should  be  ij^d.  each  to  the  colonies, 
payable  in  advance.  Newspapers  from  the  colonies  were  charged 
3^.  each,  payable  on  delivery.  Such  newspapers  must  be  posted  on 
the  day  of  publication,  must  contain  no  writing,  and  must  be  en- 
closed in  covers  open  at  both  ends.2  Two  years  later  the  charge  for 
votes  and  parliamentary  proceedings  to  and  from  the  colonies  was 
fixed  at  i y^d.  an  ounce.  Newspapers  brought  from  the  colonies  by 
private  vessels  were  to  be  charged  3 d.  each,  the  same  as  the  packet 
rate,3  but  in  1835  colonial  newspapers  by  private  vessels  were  al- 
lowed to  come  in  for  a  penny  each,  and  the  same  rate  was  charged 
for  English  newspapers  sent  to  the  colonies  by  private  vessels.  By 
the  same  act  the  postage  on  newspapers  passing  between  the  United 
Kingdom  and  any  foreign  country  which  charged  no  inland  rate  for 
their  conveyance  was  fixed  at  a  penny  each.  If  an  inland  rate  was 
charged,  the  postage  was  to  be  2d.  for  each  newspaper  plus  the  for- 
eign rate.4 

During  the  following  year,  all  the  regulations  concerning  the  con- 
veyance of  newspapers,  votes,  and  proceedings  in  Parliament  etc. 
were  embodied  in  one  act.  Within  the  United  Kingdom  all  news- 
papers which  had  paid  the  stamp  duty  were  to  go  free  except  those 
which  were  sent  through  the  Twopenny  Post  and  delivered  by  it, 

1  6  Geo.  IV,  c.  68,  sec.  10. 

2  6  Geo.  IV,  c.  68;  London  Times,  1825,  June  n,  p.  3;  July  29,  p.  2. 
8  7  and  8  Geo.  IV,  c.  21. 

4  5  and  6  Wm.  IV,  c.  25. 

Before  the  passage  of  this  act  newspapers  passed  free  by  the  packets  and  posts  to 
and  from  Hamburg,  Bremen,  and  Cuxhaven  (London  Times,  1834,  Oct.  30,  p.  2). 


170     THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

not  having  passed  by  the  General  Post,  and  except  those  posted 
and  delivered  within  the  same  town.  In  both  of  these  cases  one 
penny  was  charged.  To  and  from  the  colonies  no  rate  was  de- 
manded when  newspapers  were  sent  by  the  regular  packets.  If 
sent  by  private  vessels  one  penny  was  payable,  which  went  to  the 
master.  The  rate  to  and  from  foreign  countries  was  fixed  at  2d.  for 
each  paper,  but  if  a  foreign  state  agreed  to  charge  no  postage  on 
English  newspapers,  no  postage  should  be  charged  on  the  newspa- 
pers of  such  foreign  state,  when  brought  to  England  by  the  packet 
boats.  If  brought  by  private  vessels,  a  penny  was  payable  for  each 
paper,  to  go  to  the  master.  All  newspapers,  in  order  to  receive  the 
advantage  of  these  low  rates  or  to  go  free,  had  to  be  posted  within 
seven  days  after  publication  and  to  contain  no  writing  except  the 
name  and  address  of  the  person  to  whom  they  were  to  be  sent.  In 
addition  the  newspaper  must  have  no  cover  or  one  open  at  both 
ends.1 

The  following  additions  and  changes  in  the  regulations  for  the 
carriage  of  newspapers  were  made  in  1837.  One  penny  was  to  be 
paid  for  their  conveyance  by  private  vessels  between  different 
parts  of  the  United  Kingdom.  Between  the  colonies  and  foreign 
countries  through  the  United  Kingdom,  newspapers  should  go  free 
if  conveyed  by  the  packets  and  should  pay  a  penny  each  if  con- 
veyed by  private  vessels.  Parliamentary  proceedings  conveyed  be- 
tween the  colonies  and  the  United  Kingdom,  if  sent  by  packet  boats 
and  not  exceeding  one  ounce  in  weight,  were  charged  i}4d.  each. 
When  in  excess  of  one  ounce  they  paid  i}4d.  for  each  additional 
ounce.  Pamphlets,  magazines  and  other  periodical  publications 
for  the  colonies,  if  not  exceeding  six  ounces  in  weight,  paid  i2d. 
when  carried  by  the  packets.  For  every  additional  ounce,  3 d.  was 
charged.  Bankers'  re-issuable  notes  were  carried  at  one  quarter 
the  regular  postage.2  Patterns,  with  no  writing  enclosed  and  not 
exceeding  one  ounce  in  weight,  paid  a  single  letter  rate.3  Any  news- 
paper which  had  been  posted  in  violation  of  any  regulation  for  the 

1  6  and  7  Wm.  IV,  0.25. 

2  In  Great  Britain  re-issuable  notes  of  country  banks  paid  in  London  were  conveyed 
by  the  post  to  the  issuing  bank  at  one  quarter  the  regular  rates  for  letters,  but  parcels 
of  notes  had  to  exceed  six  ounces  in  weight  and  contain  no  other  matter  (5  Geo.  IV, 
c.  20).  8  7  Wm.  IV  and  i  Viet.,  c.  34. 


RATES  AND  FINANCE  171 

conveyance  of  newspapers  was  charged  three  times  the  regular  let- 
ter postage.1 

Franking  and  the  privilege  of  sending  and  receiving  letters  free 
from  postage  did  not  at  any  time  extend  to  letters  liable  to  foreign 
postage  except  in  the  case  of  public  despatches  to  and  from  the 
Secretaries  of  State  and  British  Ambassadors.2  The  owners,  char- 
terers and  consignees  of  vessels  inward  bound  were  allowed  to  re- 
ceive letters  free  from  sea  postage  to  the  maximum  of  six  ounces 
for  each  man,  but  in  the  case  of  ships  coming  from  the  East  In- 
dies, Ceylon,  Mauritius,  and  the  Cape,  the  maximum  was  twenty 
ounces.3  Within  the  kingdom,  writs  for  the  election  of  members  of 
the  House  of  Commons  and  for  those  Scotch  and  Irish  peers  who 
were  elected,  were  allowed  to  go  free.4  All  persons  who  were  al- 
lowed to  frank  letters  within  the  Kingdom  were  grouped  in  ten 
classes.  Members  of  Parliament  were  placed  in  the  first  class  and 
their  letters  were  subject  to  the  old  restrictions  as  to  number,5 
superscription,  name  of  post  town,  date,  and  place  of  residence. 
They  might  also  receive  petitions  free,  provided  that  each  did  not 
exceed  six  ounces  in  weight.  They  might  send  free  printed  votes  and 
proceedings  in  Parliament. 

Officials  of  both  Houses  of  Parliament  were  in  the  second  class. 
They  were  subject  to  the  same  restrictions  as  the  first  class,  except 
that  the  number  of  their  letters  was  not  limited  and  each  letter 
might  weigh  two  ounces. 

The  third  class  was  composed  of  members  of  the  Treasury  De- 
partment and  the  Postmaster-General  and  his  secretaries.  Their 
franking  privilege  was  unlimited  as  to  the  weight  and  number  of 
letters  nor  were  they  required  to  insert  the  name  of  the  post  town 
or  the  date.1 

The  fourth  class,  composed  of  heads  of  departments,  might  send 
and  receive  letters  with  no  limit  as  to  number  or  weight. 

.    *  7  Wm.  IV.  and  i  Viet.,  c.  36.  *  5  and  6  Wm.  IV,  c.  25. 

8  7  Wm.  IV  and  i  Viet.,  c.  34. ' 

Maximum  increased  to  thirty  ounces  by  7  Wm.  IV  and  i  Viet.,  c.  25. 

4  53  Geo.  Ill,  c.  89;  7  Wm.  IV  and  i  Viet.,  c.  32. 

6  Wallace,  the  postal  reformer,  declared  that  other  members  had  been  in  the  habit 
of  receiving  more  than  fifteen  free  letters  in  a  day  and  that,  too,  with  Freeling's 
consent  (Parl.  Deb.,  3d  series,  xxiv,  col.  1001). 


172      THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

The  fifth  class,  the  Lord  Chancellor  of  Ireland  and  the  Irish  Sur- 
veyors, had  unlimited  franking  rights  within  Ireland.  All  the  letters 
of  these  five  classes  were  subject  to  the  following  restrictions  with 
the  exception  of  the  third  class.  The  whole  superscription  of  the 
letters  sent  must  be  in  the  hand  of  the  privileged  person,  with  his 
name  and  the  name  of  the  post  town  from  which  the  letters  were 
sent  together  with  the  date,  and  on  that  date  or  the  day  before,  the 
writer  must  be  within  twenty  miles  of  the  place  where  the  letters 
were  posted. 

The  other  five  classes  were  made  up  of  subordinate  members  of 
departments,  clerks,  secretaries  etc.  when  writing  or  receiving  letters 
on  official  business.  Every  such  letter  had  to  be  superscribed  with 
the  name  of  the  office  and  the  seal  and  name  of  the  writer.1 

It  appeared  from  a  report  of  a  committee  appointed  to  investi- 
gate postal  affairs  that  the  total  number  of  franks  had  increased 
from  3,039,000  in  1810  to  4,142,000  in  1820;  4,792,000  in  1830  and 
5,270,000  in  1837.  Of  these,  members  of  the  two  Houses  were 
responsible  for  2,028,000;  2,726,000;  2,814,000  and  3,084,000  at  the 
above  dates  respectively.2  In  concluding  their  report  the  Commit- 
tee recommended  the  abolition  of  Parliamentary  franking.3  This 
advice  was  followed  and  improved  upon  two  years  later  when 
franking  and  the  privilege  of  sending  or  receiving  letters  free  were 
abolished,  except  in  the  case  of  petitions  to  the  Queen  or  Parliament 
not  exceeding  32  ounces  in  weight.4 

No  further  reduction  in  inland  postage  rates  was  adopted  until 
the  net  revenue  of  the  Post  Office  had  pretty  well  recovered  from 
the  blow  received  by  the  adoption  of  penny  postage.5  Such  reduc- 
tion was  finally  granted  in  1865,  applying  only  to  letters  weighing 
more  than  one  ounce  each,  the  increases  in  weight  being  graduated 
by  half  ounces  with  a  penny  for  each  additional  half  ounce  instead 
of  2d.  for  each  additional  ounce  as  before.  Corresponding  reduc- 

1  7  Wm.  IV.  and  i  Viet,  c.  35. 

*  Rep.  Com.,  1837-38,  xx,  2d  rep.,  app.,  p.  109.        3  Ibid.,  xx,  3d  rep.,  p.  62. 

4  3  and  4  Viet.,  c.  96. 

Recent  attempts  by  certain  members  of  Parliament  to  revive  the  franking  privilege 
have  fortunately  been  unsuccessful  (Parl.  Deb.,  4th  ser.,lxxxi,col.  1407;  civ,  col.  360). 

6  But  in  1861  the  registration  fee  was  reduced  from  6d.  to  4^.  and  a  double  fee 
charged  for  compulsory  registration  (Rep.  P.  (/.,  1862,  pp.  9-10). 


RATES  AND  FINANCE  173 

tions  were  made  at  the  same  time  in  the  book  post  and  the  pattern 
and  sample  post,  and  were  made  applicable  to  correspondence  with 
British  North  America  and  the  British  possessions  in  Europe.1  In 
1870,  when  the  impressed  newspaper  stamp  was  finally  abolished, 
the  rate  on  prepaid  newspapers  was  reduced  to  a  halfpenny  each 
whether  sent  singly  or  in  packages,  but  no  package  was  to  be  charged 
higher  than  the  book  post  rate.  Unpaid  newspapers  were  charged  a 
penny  for  each  two  ounces  or  fraction  thereof.  The  book  post  rate 
was  reduced  at  the  same  time  to  a  halfpenny  for  each  two  ounces 
or  fraction  thereof.  The  rate  for  patterns  and  samples,  which  had 
formerly  been  2d.  for  the  initial  four  ounces,  was  altered  to  the  ex- 
isting book  post  rate  with  a  maximum  of  twelve  ounces  only.  In  187 1 
the  inland  letter  rate  was  fixed  at  a  penny  for  the  initial  ounce,  a 
halfpenny  for  the  next  ounce  and  for  each  additional  two  ounces, 
and  the  sample  and  pattern  post  was  incorporated  with  the  inland 
letter  post.  A  separate  sample  and  pattern  post  was  reestablished 
in  1887,  only  to  be  incorporated  for  a  second  time  with  the  letter 
post  ten  years  later.2  An  additional  charge  for  re-directed  letters 
was  made  when  the  re-direction  necessitated  a  change  from  the  ori- 
ginal delivery,  but  the  charge  was  such  only  as  they  would  be  lia- 
ble to  if  prepaid.  An  exception  was  made  in  the  case  of  letters  re- 
directed to  sailors  or  soldiers,  no  additional  charge  being  then  made, 
provided  that  the  rate  was  not  a  foreign  one.  This  privilege  was 
later  extended  to  commissioned  officers  and  the  exemption  ex- 
tended to  foreign  rates  as  well.3  In  1891  all  charges  for  the  re- 
direction of  letters  were  abolished,  followed  three  years  later  by  a 
like  abolition  in  the  case  of  all  other  postal  matter,  and  in  1900  the 
charge  for  notice  of  removal  and  re-direction  after  the  first  year 
was  reduced  from  £i  is.  to  is.  for  the  second  and  third  and  55.  for 
subsequent  years.4 

With  an  increase  in  the  number  of  valuable  articles  carried  by 
post  and  better  arrangements  for  their  safe  keeping,  it  was  found 
possible  to  reduce  the  registration  fee  from  nd.  to  6d.,  then  to^d. 

1  Rep.  P.  G.,  1866,  p.  12. 

2  Ibid.,  1870,  pp.  3-5;  1897,  p.  5;  1896,  p.  2;  1898,  pp.  1-2. 

*  3  and  4  Viet.,  c.  96;  10  and  n  Viet.,  c.  85;  23  and  24  Viet,  c.  65. 

*  Rep.  P.  G.,  1892,  p.  8;  1894,  p.  2;  1895,  p.  4;  1901,  p.  4. 


174     THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

and  eventually  to  2 d.  At  the  time  of  the  first  reduction,  a  rule  was 
issued  for  the  compulsory  registration  by  the  Post  Office  of  all 
letters  unquestionably  containing  coin,  for  the  sake  of  letter  car- 
riers and  others  rather  than  the  protection  of  the  public.  The  Post 
Office  did  not  at  the  time  of  the  first  reduction  hold  itself  respons- 
ible for  the  full  value  of  the  contents  of  a  lost  registered  letter  but 
was  accustomed  to  remunerate  the  sender  where  the  contents  were 
proved,  were  of  moderate  amount,  and  the  fault  clearly  lay  with 
the  Post  Office.  In  1878  it  agreed  to  make  good  up  to  £2  the  value 
of  the  contents  of  any  registered  letter  which  it  lost,  stipulating  in 
the  case  of  money  that  it  had  been  sent  securely  and  in  one  of 
its  own  envelopes.  Compulsory  registration  by  the  Post  Office  was 
also  extended  to  include  uncrossed  cheques  and  postal  orders  to 
which  the  name  of  the  payee  had  not  been  appended.1 

An  inland  parcel  post  was  not  established  in  England  until  1883. 
An  initial  rate  of  3 d.  was  imposed  for  the  first  pound,  increasing  by 
increments  of  3^.  to  is.  for  the  seventh  pound.  Later  the  maxi- 
mum weight  was  increased  to  1 1  pounds,  the  maximum  charge  to 
is.  6d.  In  1905  a  further  reduction  followed  on  parcels  weighing 
more  than  four  pounds.2 

The  use  of  postcards  was  first  permitted  in  England  in  1870,  a 
charge  of  a  halfpenny  a  dozen  being  made  in  addition  to  the  stamp. 
In  1875  this  additional  charge  was  increased  to  a  penny  a  dozen 
for  thin  cards,  2d.  for  stout  cards.  In  1899  these  prices  were  re- 
duced to  a  penny  for  ten  stout  cards,  a  halfpenny  for  ten  thin  ones, 
and  the  latter  began  rapidly  to  displace  the  former.  Private  post 
cards  were  first  allowed  to  pass  through  the  post  in  1894  for  a  half- 
penny each,  and  two  years  later  the  charge  on  unpaid  inland  post 
cards  was  reduced  from  2 d.  to  a  penny.3  At  the  same  time  that 
the  use  of  post  cards  was  allowed,  a  half  penny  post  was  intro- 
duced for  certain  classes  of  formal  printed  documents.4 

In  1884  the  scale  of  postage  applicable  to  inland  letters  between 
two  and  twelve  ounces  in  weight  was  continued  without  limit.  The 
resulting  rates  were  as  follows:  for  the  first  ounce,  one  penny; 

1  Rep.  P.  G.,  1862,  pp.  9-10;  1879,  P-  13;  J897,  p.  5- 

*  Ibid.,  1896,  p.  3;  1882,  p.  3;  1906,  p.  i. 

8  Ibid.,  1896,  p.  2;  1889,  p.  2;  1897,  p.  5;  1895,  p.  18.     «  Ibid.,  1903,  p.  5. 


RATES  AND  FINANCE  175 

for  two  ounces,  ij4d.;  for  all  greater  weights,  a  halfpenny  for 
every  two  ounces  plus  an  initial  penny.  On  the  occasion  of  the  six- 
tieth anniversary  of  the  late  Queen's  accession  to  the  throne,  further 
decreases  were  announced  in  the  postage  on  inland  letters.  The 
weight  carried  by  the  initial  penny  was  extended  from  one  to 
four  ounces,  the  postage  for  heavier  letters  increasing  as  before  at 
the  rate  of  a  halfpenny  for  each  additional  two  ounces.1 

The  decrease  in  postage  for  inland  matter  was  accompanied  by 
lower  rates  for  colonial  and  foreign  letters.  Although  the  proposal 
of  the  Marquis  of  Clanricarde  to  establish  a  definite  shilling 2  rate 
for  all  colonial  letters  was  not  immediately  adopted,  it  was  not  long 
before  even  lower  rates  were  accepted.  The  Marquis'  plan  was 
communicated  to  the  Treasury  Lords  in  1850  purely  on  Imperial 
grounds,  "to  strengthen  the  ties  between  the  colonies  and  the 
mother  country."  Rates  other  than  those  on  letters  were  even  then 
far  from  excessive.  Newspapers,  for  instance,  often  passed  free  or 
they  were  charged  a  penny  each  either  in  England  or  the  colony, 
but  not  in  both.  Parliamentary  proceedings  paid  but  one  penny, 
sometimes  2d.  per  quarter-pound,  books  6d.  per  half-pound.  A  few 
years  later  a  6d.  letter  rate  was  adopted  for  all  parts  of  the  Empire 
except  India,  the  Cape,  Mauritius,  and  Van  Diemen's  Land.  In 
1857  the  6d.  rate  per  half -ounce  was  extended  to  all  the  colonies  and 
in  1868  to  the  United  States.  In  the  following  year  this  rate  was 
lowered  to  3^.  for  letters  to  the  United  States,  Canada  and  Prince 
Edward  Island.3  In  1890  this  rate  in  the  case  of  most  of  the 
colonies,  and  some  foreign  countries,  was  still  further  reduced 
to  2j4^.,  partly  no  doubt  on  account  of  the  crusade  which  Mr. 
Heaton  had  undertaken  for  penny  postage  within  the  Empire.4  In 
1898  his  penny  aspirations  were  realized  for  all  the  important  colo- 
nies with  the  exception  of  the  Australasian  and  South  African,  and 
in  1905  these  too  fell  into  line  and  were  joined  by  Egypt  and  the 
Soudan.5  In  1907,  the  experiment  was  tried  of  charging  the  compar- 
atively nominal  sum  of  one  penny  a  pound  on  British  newspapers, 

1  Rep.  P.  G.,  1885,  p.  14;  1898,  pp.  1-2. 

2  Even  at  this  time  (1850)  the  shilling  rate  was  the  rule. 

*  Ace.  6-  P.,  1852-53,  xcv.,  204,  pp.  2-3;  Rep.  P.  G.,  1855,  pp.  36-37;  1858,  p.  20; 
Rep.  Com.,  1868-69,  vi>  P-  'lv>  R&P-  ?•  G.,  1871,  app.,  p.  29;  1870,  pp.  6-7. 
\  4  Ibid.,  1891,  p.  6;  app.,  p.  39.  B  Ibid.,  1899,  p.  7;  1906,  p.  i. 


1 76     THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

magazines,  and  trade  journals  for  Canada,  duly  registered  for  the 
purpose,  when  sent  by  direct  Canadian  packet.  This  rate  is  less 
than  the  cost  but  the  loss  is  diminished  by  the  fact  that  the  Domin- 
ion Government  relieves  the  British  Post  Office  of  the  whole  cost 
of  ocean  transit  by  the  Canadian  subsidized  lines.1 

In  1863  arrangements  were  made  with  the  principal  European 
countries  for  a  marked  reduction  in  letter  postage  rates.  With 
France  a  rate  of  Sd.  or  lod.  for  a  quarter  of  an  ounce,  according  to 
the  country  in  which  the  postage  was  paid,  had  existed.  This  was 
reduced  to  4^.  payable  in  either  country.  With  Italy  and  Spain  the 
existing  rates  of  is.  id.  and  lod.  respectively  for  a  quarter  of  an 
ounce  were  reduced  to  6d.  The  Belgian  sixpenny  half -ounce  rate 
was  made  4^.,  and  with  the  German  Postal  Union  the  rate  was 
reduced  from  8d.  to  6d.  for  a  half-ounce  letter.  In  general  these 
were  prepaid  rates.2  The  first  Postal  Union  meeting  at  Berne  in  1874 
reduced  still  further  the  old  rates  and  simplified  the  rules  for  the  set- 
tlement of  postal  payments  between  the  subscribing  nations.  A 
uniform  rate  for  prepaid  letters  of  2)4d.  the  half  ounce  was  agreed 
to,  5^.  for  an  unpaid  letter.  Post  cards  were  charged  at  half  the 
rate  of  a  prepaid  letter,  newspapers  a  penny  for  four  ounces, 
printed  papers  (other  than  newspapers),  books,  legal  and  commer- 
cial documents,  and  samples  of  merchandise  a  penny  for  two  ounces.3 
In  1891  the  uniform  letter  rate  existing  among  those  countries  in 
Europe  which  were  members  of  the  Postal  Union  was  extended,  so 
far  as  the  United  Kingdom  was  concerned,  to  all  parts  of  the  globe. 
On  the  first  of  October,  1907,  a  further  reduction  was  made  when 
the  unit  of  weight  for  outward  foreign  and  colonial  letters  was 
raised  from  half  an  ounce  to  an  ounce,  and  the  charge  on  foreign 
letters  for  each  unit  after  the  first  was  reduced  from  2  y^d.  to  i  }4d.4 

Shortly  after  acquiring  the  money  order  business  from  the  man- 
aging proprietors,  the  Post  Office  reduced  the  rates  of  commission 
to  $d.  for  orders  not  exceeding  £2  in  value,  and  6d.  for  orders  above 
£2  but  not  over  £5,  the  latter  sum  being  at  that  time  the  maxi- 
mum. In  1862  the  issue  of  orders  for  larger  sums  was  allowed  at  the 
following  rates:  gd.  when  not  in  excess  of  £7,  and  i2d.  between 

1  Rep.  P.  G.,  1907,  pp.  4-5.    2  Ibid.,  1864,  p.  21;  1859,  pp.  19-20. 
1  Ibid.,  1875,  p.  13.         4  Ibid.,  1892,  p.  8;  1906,  pp.  1-2. 


RATES  AND  FINANCE  177 

£7  and  £10.  On  the  first  day  of  May,  1871,  a  further  reduction 
was  made  and  the  following  scale  of  charges  announced:  for 
sums  under  ios.,  a  penny;  between  los.  and  £i,  2^.;  between  £i 
and  £2,  3^.,  and  an  additional  penny  for  each  additional  pound  to 
the  £10  limit.  It  was  found,  however,  that  the  low  rate  of  a  penny 
for  small  orders  did  not  pay,  and  a  decision  was  reached  to  raise  the 
rate  for  these  small  orders  and  provide  a  cheaper  means  for  their 
remittance  by  post.  In  pursuance  of  this  policy  the  rate  for  orders 
under  105.  was  increased  to  2d.,  for  orders  between  los.  and  £i  to 
3^.,  and  in  1881  the  following  rates  were  announced  for  postal 
notes:  a  halfpenny  for  notes  of  the  value  of  15.  and  is.  6d. ;  a  penny 
for  notes  of  the  value  of  2s.  6d.,  55.  and  75.,  6d.  and  2d.  for  notes  cost- 
ing i  os.,  125.  6d.,  155.,  175.  6d.,  and  205.  In  1884  a  new  series  of  pos- 
tal orders  was  issued,  the  125.  6d.  and  175.  6d.  notes  being  dropped 
and  new  notes  issued  of  the  value  of  25.,  35.,  35.  6d.,  45.,  45.  6d.,  ics. 
6d.  for  a  penny  each  and  the  rate  on  the  155.  and  205.  notes  was 
reduced  toi)4d.  In  1903  still  others  were  introduced  with  the  result 
that  a  postal  order  may  now  be  obtained  for  every  complete  6d. 
from  6d.  to  205.  and  for  215.  and  broken  sums  to  the  value  of  $d. 
may  be  made  up  by  affixing  postage  stamps.  Finally,  in  1905,  the 
poundage  on  postal  notes  for  25.  and  2s.  6d.  was  reduced  from  id. 
to  a  halfpenny,  and  on  postal  orders  for  115.  to  155.  inclusive  from 
i  J^d.  to  id.  In  1886  the  money  order  rates  were  reduced  as  fol- 
lows:— dm 
On  sums  not  exceeding  £i  2 
£2  3 
£4  4 
£7  5 
£10  6 

These  rates  were  in  their  turn  altered  as  follows  on  February  i, 

1897-—  d. 

For  an  order  not  exceeding   £3  3 

Over  £3  but  not  exceeding    £10  4 

Upon  the  representation  of  the  Friendly  Societies,  which  send  a  good 
many  small  orders,  these  rates  were  changed  in  May  of  the  same 
year  to  the  following:  — 


178     THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

d. 

For  an  order  not  exceeding  £i  2 

exceeding  £i  but  not  over  £3  3 

exceeding  £3  but  not  over  £10  4 

And  finally  in  1903  the  maximum  amount  of  a  money  order  was 
raised  from  £10  to  £40  and  the  following  rates  established: l  — 

d. 

For  sums  not  exceeding  £i  2 

For  sums  above  £i  but  not  exceeding  £3  3 

£3  £10  4 

£10  £20  6 

£20  £30  8 

£30  £40  10 

In  addition  to  the  reductions  in  rates  which  have  been  outlined 
above,  other  changes  have  been  made  which  have  resulted  in  cer- 
tain cases  in  a  saving  to  the  transmitter  of  a  money  order.  The 
charge  for  correcting  or  altering  the  name  of  the  remitter  or  payee 
of  an  inland  order  has  been  reduced  to  the  fixed  sum  of  a  penny. 
The  fee  payable  for  stopping  payment  of  an  inland  order  was  fixed 
at  id.,  and  this  was  made  to  cover  the  issue  of  a  new  order  if  the 
request  was  made  at  the  time  of  stopping  payment.  A  penny  stamp 
need  no  longer  be  affixed  to  a  money  order  when  payment  is  de- 
ferred and  payment  may  be  deferred  for  any  period  not  exceeding 
ten  days.2 

The  issue  of  telegraph  money  orders,  commenced  in  1889  as  an 
experiment,  was  in  1892  extended  to  all  money  order  offices  which 
were  also  telegraph  offices.  The  limit  imposed  was  £10,  the  rates 
being  d. 

On  orders  not  exceeding  £i  4 

£2  6 

£4  8 

£7  10 

£10         12 

There  was  an  additional  charge  of  at  least  gd.  for  the  official 
telegram,  authorizing  payment,  which  was  sent  in  duplicate.  When 
several  orders  were  sent  at  the  same  time  and  the  total  amount 

1  Rep.  P.  G.,  1896,  pp.  26-32;  1897,  pp.  lo-u;  1904,  pp.  11-12;  1906,  p.  i. 

2  Ibid.,  1897,  pp.  10-11. 


RATES  AND   FINANCE  179 

did  not  exceed  £50,  only  one  official  telegram  was  sent  and  paid 
for.  The  above  rates  were  lowered  in  1897  to  4^-  f°r  sums  not  in 
excess  of  £3,  and  6d.  for  sums  from  £3  to  £10  with  a  minimum 
charge  of  6d.  for  the  official  telegram  of  advice.1  At  the  present 
time  inland  telegraph  money  orders  may  be  issued  for  the  same 
amounts  as  ordinary  inland  money  orders  and  at  the  same  rates, 
plus  a  fee  of  2d.  and  the  cost  of  the  official  telegram. 

During  the  Crimean  War,  the  Army  Post  Office  was  authorized 
to  issue  money  orders  at  inland  rates  and  the  system  was  extended 
to  Gibraltar  and  Malta.  In  1858  a  proposition  advanced  by  Can- 
ada for  the  interchange  of  money  orders  was  favourably  received 
by  the  Home  Government,  and  in  the  following  year  provision  was 
made  for  their  issue  between  the  United  Kingdom  and  Canada  at 
four  times  the  inland  rates,  to  a  limit  of  £5.  In  1862  the  system 
was  extended  to  all  the  colonies,  the  rates  being  the  same  as  those 
already  agreed  upon  with  Canada  except  in  the  case  of  Gibraltar 
and  Malta  where  they  were  three  times  the  inland  rates,  and  the 
maximum  was  increased  to  £10.  In  1868  a  money  order  convention 
was  concluded  with  Switzerland,  the  rates  being  the  same  as  those 
for  inland  orders,  and  in  1869  a  similar  agreement  was  made  with 
Belgium,  but  in  1871  the  rates  for  both  countries  were  increased  to 
three  times  the  inland  rates  upon  the  same  terms  as  those  prevail- 
ing with  other  parts  of  Europe.  In  1880  colonial  rates  were  reduced 
to  the  same  level,  and  in  1883  the  following  changes  were  adopted: 

d. 
On  orders  not  exceeding  £2  6 

£5 

£7  18 

£10          24 

These  were  superseded  in  1896  by  the  following  rates:  — 

d. 

On  orders  not  exceeding  £2  6 

£6  12 

£10          18 

By  1903  most  foreign  countries  and  some  of  the  colonies  had 
agreed  to  a  further  reduction  of  rates  and  to  a  £40  limit.  In  1905 

1  Rep.  P.  G.,  1896,  pp.  30-32. 


I  SO     THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

the  poundage  on  foreign  money  orders  not  exceeding  £i  in  value 
was  diminished  from  ^d.  to  ^d.1 

There  is  no  record  of  the  yearly  expenses  of  the  Government  for 
the  maintenance  of  the  posts  until  the  accession  of  James  I.2  There 
are  many  instances  of  the  issue  of  warrants  for  the  payment  of  the 
posts  but  it  is  not  known  how  long  a  period  they  were  intended  to 
cover.3  There  was  no  systematic  financial  method  in  dealing  with 
this  phase  of 'the  postal  question.  The  postmen  remained  unpaid 
for  years  at  a  time.  After  sufficient  clamour,  part  of  the  arrears 
would  be  met,  but  it  is  impossible  to  say  how  much  of  the  sum  paid 
was  for  current  expenses  and  how  much  for  old  debts.4  It  might 
be  supposed  from  the  fact  that  they  received  fixed  daily  wages  that 
some  idea  might  be  obtained  of  the  cost  of  management.  But  their 
wages  often  remained  unpaid  and  the  number  of  postmen  varied, 
as  new  routes  were  manned  or  old  routes  discontinued,  so  that  any 
figures  for  the  period  before  the  seventeenth  century  would  be  mere 
guesses. 

Until  1626  5  our  knowledge  of  the  finances  of  the  Post  Office  is 
concerned  with  expenses  only,  for  there  was  no  product,  gross  or 
net,  for  the  state.  In  1603,  the  cost  of  the  posts  was  £4150  a  year.6 
This  was  the  year  of  James  the  First's  accession,  and  to  this  is 
probably  due  the  fact  that  payment  was  made  for  an  entire  year. 
Then  there  comes  a  break  of  several  years'  duration.  In  1621,  ar- 
rears for  the  half  year  ending  March  31, 1619,  were  paid.  They 
amounted  to  £917.  For  the  next  two  years  the  yearly  expenses 
averaged  £2984.  The  total  expenses  for  the  financial  year  ending 
in  March,  1621,  were  £3404.  All  the  posts  to  Berwick  received  92$. 
a  day,  to  Dover  175.  6d.,  to  Holyhead  365. 8d.  and  £130  a  year  for  a 
sailing  packet,  to  Plymouth  255.  a  day.  The  wages  for  each  post- 

1  Rep.  P.  G.,  1896,  pp.  28-30;  1897,  pp.  10-11;  1904,  p.  n;  1906,  p.  i. 

*  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  xiv,  app.,  p.  48  (25). 

8  L.  &•  P.  Hen.  VIII,  ii,  pp.  1444-51-53-57-58-60-62-63-66-72;  A.  P.  C.,  1547- 
50,  pp.  in,  278, 307, 319, 413;  1552-54,  pp.  74, 137, 402. 

«  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1623-25,  pp.  55,  285;  1628-29,  p.  184;  1629-31,  pp.  379,  440. 

B  The  proceeds  from  de  Quester's  rates,  which  went  into  effect  from  this  year,  may 
possibly  have  gone  to  the  Post  Office.  After  Witherings'  rates  were  announced  in 
1635,  they  certainly  did.  8  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1603-10,  p.  9. 


RATES  AND  FINANCE  l8l 

master  varied  from  is.  Sd.  to  45. 4d.  a  day.  In  addition  there  was 
an  expenditure  of  £50  for  extraordinary  posts  and  5$.  a  day  to  the 
paymaster.1  In  1625,  the  ordinary  expenses  were  about  £4300  a 
year.2  It  is  disappointing  not  to  be  able  to  make  any  more  definite 
statements  concerning  the  financial  operations  of  the  Post  Office 
before  1635,  but  the  unbusinesslike  system  under  which  it  was  con- 
ducted must  take  the  blame. 

Our  ideas  of  the  financial  operations  of  the  Post  Office  from  1635 
to  1711  are  somewhat  clearer  than  during  the  preceding  period. 
We  know  that  Witherings'  aim  was  to  make  the  system  self-sup- 
porting. It  had  probably  not  entered  into  his  head  that  it  might  ever 
be  anything  more.  After  the  sequestration  of  the  position  of 
Postmaster-General  to  Burlamachi,  he  was  called  upon  to  render  an 
account  of  the  financial  proceedings  of  the  Post  Office  during  the 
short  period  that  he  was  in  charge.3  He  reported  that  from  August 
4, 1640,  to  December  25, 1641,  the  receipts  had  been  £8363  and  the 
expenditure  £4867.  £1400  of  the  balance  had  been  paid  to  the 
Secretary  of  State  and  "  of  the  remaining  £2000,  those  that  keep 
the  office  are  to  be  considered  for  their  pains  and  attendance." 
This  is  rather  vague  but  the  report  shows  that  the  Post  Office  was 
self-supporting  only  six  years  after  Witherings'  reforms  had  been 
adopted.4  Prideaux  reported  at  an  early  period  in  his  regime  that, 
with  the  exception  of  the  Dover  road  and  the  Holyhead  packet,  the 
posts  paid  for  themselves.5  After  the  Post  Office  was  farmed,  there 
can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  total  net  revenue,  but  it  is  impossible  to 
say  how  much  the  farmer  made  over  and  above  the  amount  of 
his  farm  or  how  large  his  expenses  were.  Manley  paid  the  state 
£10,000  a  year  and  is  said  to  have  made  £14,000  during  the  six 
years  that  he  farmed  the  Posts.6  In  1659  the  rent  was  raised  to 
£14,000  7  a  year,  and  in  1660  there  was  a  further  advance  to 
£2i,5oo.8  Of  this  £21,500  the  Duke  of  York  received  £16,117  and 
the  rest  was  spent  largely  in  paying  pensions  and  for  a  few  minor 

1  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  xiv,  app.,  p.  43  (21). 

2  Hist.  MSS.  Com.,  Rep.,  12,  app.,  pt.  4,  p.  472. 

•  Cal.  T.  P.,  1697-1702,  p.  289.  4  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1641-43,  p.  213. 

8  Jo.  H.  C.,  1648-51,  p.  385.  6  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1653-54,  p.  365. 

7  Hist.  MSS.  Com.,  Rep.,  15,  app.,  pt.  i,  p.  97. 

8  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  xiv,  app.,  p.  76  (53). 


1 82      THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

expenses  such  as  the  payment  of  the  Court  Postmaster.1  By  the 
act  of  1663,  the  net  Post  Office  revenue  was  settledjupon  the  Duke 
of  York  and  his  male  heirs,  with  the  exception  of  about  £5000  a 
year,  that  being  the  amount  of  the  pension  charges  on  the  revenue.2 
Certain  deductions  were  made  from  the  sum  total  of  rent  due,  on 
account  of  the  loss  to  the  farmer  from  the  activity  of  the  inter- 
lopers, and  the  deficit  was  ordered  to  be  made  up  from  some  other 
branch  of  the  royal  revenue.3 

After  James  II  took  his  involuntary  departure  from  England,  his 
pecuniary  interest  in  the  Post  Office  ceased.  In  1690,  an  act  of 
Parliament  was  passed,  making  the  receipts  from  the  Post  Office 
payable  into  the  Exchequer.  They  were  to  be  used  among  other 
things  to  pay  the  interest  on  £250,000  borrowed  to  carry  on  the 
war.4  From  1690  to  1710,  the  gross  receipts  rose  from  about 
£70,000  to  £90,000  a  year,  no  consideration  being  taken  of  the  ups 
and  downs  caused  by  the  French  wars.5  Complaint  was  made  by 
the  Lords  that  a  large  part  of  the  postal  revenue  was  wasted  in  pay- 
ing pensions.6  The  Duchess  of  Cleveland  received  £4700  a  year 
and  William's  Dutch  General,  the  Duke  of  Schomberg,  £4000  a 
year.  Poor  William  Dockwra,  the  only  one  of  the  lot  who  had  ever 
done  anything  for  the  Post  Office,  was  at  the  end  of  the  list  with 
only  £500  a  year,  terminable  in  i697.7  The  sum  total  of  money 
payable  in  pensions  from  the  post  revenue  in  1695  was  £21,200. 
The  packet  boats  at  the  same  time  cost  £13,000,  and  but  £10,000 
was  spent  for  salaries  and  wages.  The  net  revenue  in  1694  was 
£59,972,  the  gross  being  about  £88,000. 8 

During  the  eighteenth  century  the  postal  revenue  still  continued 
to  be  burdened  with  the  pensions  of  favourites,  deserving  and  un- 
deserving. Queen  Anne  asked  Parliament  to  settle  £5000  a  year 
upon  the  Duke  of  Marlborough  and  his  heirs.  The  House  of  Com- 
mons replied  that  they  very  much  regretted  that  they  could  not  do 

Cal  S.  P.  D.,  1661-62,  pp.  122,  245.    2  15  Chas.  II,  c.  14. 

Col.  S.  P.  D.,  1663-64,  p.  598. 

Hist.  MSS.  Com.,  Rep.,  13,  app.,  pt.  5,  p.  81. 

Hist.  MSS.  Com.,  Rep.,  13,  app.,  pt.  5,  p.  362. 

Hist.  MSS.  Com.,  Rep.,  13,  app.,  pt.  5,  p.  406. 

Hist.  MSS.  Com.,  House  of  Lords,  i,  pp.  84-87. 

Rep.  Com.,  1844,  xiv,  app.,  p.  93  (66). 


RATES  AND  FINANCE  183 

so  for  the  Post  Office  was  already  paying  too  much  in  pensions. 
Probably  the  real  reason  for  their  refusal  was  the  fact  that  the 
Duke  and  the  war  party  were  becoming  unpopular.  However,  the 
Queen  granted  him  the  pension  for  her  own  life  as  she  had  a  legal 
right  to  do.  In  1713,  the  total  amount  of  pensions  payable  from  the 
postal  revenue  was  £22,120.  Before  the  act  of  1711  was  passed, 
the  Scotch  Office  had  paid  £210  to  each  of  the  Universities  of  Edin- 
burgh and  Glasgow.  This  continued  to  be  granted  after  the  two 
Offices  were  united.1 

Our  knowledge  of  the  financial  operations  of  the  Post  Office 
during  the  eighteenth  century  is  much  more  extensive  than  during 
the  seventeenth,  owing  to  the  reports  made  by  the  Post  Office 
officials  to  the  Parliamentary  committees,  appointed  to  enquire 
into  abuses.  The  reports  are  all  signed  by  the  Accountant- General 
or  his  deputy,  and  are  therefore  as  trustworthy  as  anything  which 
can  be  obtained.  They  show  that  during  the  first  half  of  the  cen- 
tury, or  more  explicitly  from  1717  to  1754,  there  was  a  very  small 
annual  increase  in  gross  product,  with  an  actual  decrease  in  net  prod- 
uct, and  of  course  an  increase  in  expenditure.  In  round  numbers 
the  average  yearly  gross  product  for  the  years  1725-29  was 
£179,000,  the  net  product  for  the  same  period  being  £98,000  and 
the  expenses  of  management  £81,000.  For  the  five  years  from  1750 
to  1754,  the  average  annual  gross  product  was  £207,000,  net  prod- 
uct £97,000,  and  expenses  £110,000.  It  is  not  surprising  that  there 
was  no  increase  worthy  of  the  name  in  the  gross  product,  for  the 
period  under  consideration  was  a  time  of  stagnation,  an  interme- 
diate stage  just  before  the  dawn  of  the  industrial  revolution.  The 
actual  decrease  in  net  product  or,  what  amounts  to  the  same  thing, 
the  increase  in  expenses  of  management,  is  due  largely  to  the  abuse 
of  the  franking  privilege,  the  large  amounts  received  in  fees  and 
emoluments,  the  extraordinary  way  in  which  the  packet  service 
was  mismanaged,  and  the  losses  and  increased  expense  due  to  war. 
Enough  has  been  said  about  all  but  the  last  of  these  causes.  The 
Post  Office  suffered  most  during  war  from  increased  expenses  and 
direct  losses  in  connection  with  the  sailing  packets.  The  placing 
of  these  upon  a  war  footing  involved  considerable  increased  cost. 
1  Cal.  T.  P.,  1708-14,  p.  20. 


1 84     THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

In  the  second  place,  extra  boats  were  used  for  political  purposes 
in  addition  to  those  regularly  employed,  and  it  was  customary  for 
the  Post  Office  to  make  good  to  the  owners  all  damages  inflicted 
by  the  enemy.  From  1725  to  1739,  the  expenses  of  the  Post 
Office  averaged  £80,000  or  £90,000  a  year.  Then  came  the  War  of 
the  Austrian  Succession,  when  the  expenses  averaged  £105,000 
per  year  from  1745  to  1749.  The  five  following  years  being  a 
period  of  peace,  the  average  annual  expenses  were  £110,000,  while 
the  Seven  Years'  War  brought  them  up  to  £147,000.  It  may  be 
thought  that  expenses  should  become  normal  again  when  war  has 
ceased,  but  it  has  generally  proved  to  be  the  rule  that  although 
peace  brings  a  decrease,  yet  the  expenditure  does  not  fall  quite  so 
low  as  before  the  war. 

From  1755  to  the  end  of  the  century  there  is  a  marked  rise  both 
in  gross  and  net  receipts  and  a  comparative  diminution  in  expenses. 
The  gross  average  annual  product  from  1755  to  1759  was  £228,000, 
from  1790  to  1794  it  was  £602,000.  For  the  five  years  from  1755  to 
1759  the  average  yearly  net  product  was  £81,000,  from  1790  to 
1794  it  was  £375,000,  while  expenses  had  risen  for  the  same  periods 
only  from  £147,000  to  £227,000.  The  following  table  shows  the 
average  yearly  increase  or  decrease  in  gross  product,  expenses,  and 
net  products  for  the  six  five-year  periods  from  1765  to  1794.  The 
increases  or  decreases  are  given  in  the  form  of  percentages,  each 
five-year  period  being  compared  with  the  preceding  period.1 

1765-69 

1770-74 

1775-79 

1780-84 
1785-89 2 
1790-94 

The  net  product  from  both  the  Scotch  and  Irish  Posts  was  re- 
mitted to"  England.  These  receipts  did  not  amount  to  much  as 
compared  with  those  from  the  English  Post.  Earl  Temple,  Lord 
Lieutenant  of  Ireland,  in  writing  to  Grenville  in  1784,  said  that  the 

1  For  the  gross  product,  net  product,  and  expenses  for  each  year,  see  Appendix,  pp. 
243,  244,  245,  Tables  I,  n.  2  Rates  were  increased  in  1784. 


Gross  product 

Expenses 

Net  product 

17%  increase 

22%  decrease 

76%  increase 

ii 

27     increase 

unchanged 

12 

3° 

a 

19 

37 

(i 

21 

21      decrease 

90%  increase 

24             " 

14     increase 

30%  " 

RATES  AND   FINANCE  185 

Irish  post  "  had  never  paid  £8000  a  year  clear  of  expenses."  1  In 
1796,  the  gross  product  was  £26,949  and  the  expenses  of  manage- 
ment £8718.  Of  the  net  product,  £6651  were  retained,  being 
placed  to  the  credit  of  Great  Britain  for  returned  and  missent 
letters  and  for  the  £4000  which  the  Irish  Post  was  entitled  to 
receive  in  lieu  of  the  receipts  from  the  Holyhead  packet  boats. 
The  remaining  £11,579  were  sent  to  the  general  Post  Office.  The 
Scotch  Posts  did  considerably  better.  The  gross  product  in  1796 
was  £69,338,  the  expenses  of  management  £14,346,  for  returned  let- 
ters £1206,  and  the  net  product  sent  to  the  General  Office  was 
£54,265. 

The  time  had  long  since  passed  when  the  London-Dover  road 
was  the  most  important  in  the  kingdom  and  when  the  receipts  from 
foreign  exceeded  those  from  inland  letters.  As  late  as  1653,  when 
contracts  were  called  for  from  those  wishing  to  farm  the  posts,  the 
amount  offered  in  one  instance  was  almost  as  great  for  the  foreign 
as  for  the  inland  post.  The  average  annual  gross  product  from  the 
foreign  post  for  the  period  1785-89  was  £61,431,  the  expenses 
£32,169  and  the  net  product  £29,262.  For  the  period  from  1790  to 
1794  there  was  a  small  increase  to  £65,497  for  gross  product, 
£34,277  for  expenses,  and  £31,200  for  net  product.2 

The  receipts  from  the  London  Penny  Post  were  never  an  impor- 
tant factor  in  postal  finance  but  it  had  always  paid  for  itself  and 
given  a  reasonable  surplus.  Its  importance  was  due  more  to  its 
social  value  in  affording  a  cheaper  letter  rate  and  a  speedier  postal 
service  than  the  General  Post.  The  average  yearly  gross  product 
from  1785-94  was  £10,508,  expenses  £5177,  and  net  product 
£5331.  After  Johnson  had  improved  it  so  much,  it  produced  a 
yearly  average  gross  product  from  1795  to  1797  of  £26,283.  Ex- 
penses averaged  £18,960  and  net  product  £7323. 

In  the  seventeenth  century  the  receipts  from  bye  and  cross  post 
letters  amounted  to  very  little.  So  little  was  expected  from  them 
that  no  provision  was  made  for  checking  the  postage  on  them.  It 
was  taken  for  granted  that  all  letters  would  pass  to,  from,  or 
through  London.  In  1720  they  brought  in  only  £3700.  Allen  had 

1  Hist.  MSS.  Com.,  Dropmore,  i,  p.  179. 

2  Parl.  Papers,  1812-13,  Rep.  Com.,  ii,  222,  p.  93. 


1 86     THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

done  much  to  increase  the  revenue,  but  it  was  not  until  the  last 
part  of  the  eighteenth  century  that  the  increase  was  at  all  marked. 
From  1780  to  1784,  the  average  annual  gross  product  was  £77,911, 
expenses  £12,346  and  net  product  £65,565.  From  1785  to  1789, 
these  had  increased  respectively  to  £104,817,  £11,589,  and  £93,228, 
and  from  1790  to  1794  to  £140,974,  £15,030,  and  £125,944.  The 
small  expense  for  these  letters  is  explained  by  the  fact  that  the 
separate  department  for  bye  and  cross  post  letters  was  debited 
with  only  a  portion  of  the  total  cost,  the  larger  part  being  carried 
by  the  general  establishment.1 

The  financial  history  of  the  Post  Office  from  the  beginning  of  the 
nineteenth  century  to  1838  is  a  rather  depressing  record.2  From 
1805  until  1820  both  the  gross  and  net  receipts  had  increased  stead- 
ily although  not  rapidly,  but  for  the  remainder  of  the  period  the 
revenue  was  practically  stationary.  During  the  five-year  periods, 
1820-24  and  1830-34,  there  had  been  a  decrease  in  gross  receipts, 
and  during  the  latter  of  these  periods  the  net  receipts  had  been  kept 
a  little  ahead  of  the  five-year  period  1815-19  only  by  a  decrease  in 
expenditure. 

The  annual  gross  receipts  from  Scotland  had  increased  from 
£117,108  during  the  period  1800-04  to  £204,481  during  the  period 
1830-34,  the  annual  net  receipts  for  the  same  periods  being 
£98,156  and  £149,752.  The  relatively  large  increase  in  expenses 
from  £18,952  to  £54,729  had  been  due  largely  to  the  payment  of 
mail  coach  tolls  after  1814,  amounting  to  something  under 
£20,000  a  year.3  Ireland  started  with  a  smaller  gross  revenue, 
£92,745  a  year  during  the  period  1800-04,  but  a  larger  annual 
expenditure  £64,368,*  and  comparatively  small  net  receipts  of 
£28,377.  Gross  receipts,  expenses,  and  net  receipts  had  increased 
slowly  throughout  the  first  thirty-four  years  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury with  the  exception  of  the  period  1820-24.  For  the  five  years 
from  1830  to  1834  inclusive  they  amounted  to  £244,098,  £108,898, 
and  £135,200  respectively.5 

1  Parl.  Papers,  1812-13,  Rep.  Com.,  ii,  222,  p.  91. 

2  See  Appendix,  p.  246,  Table  in;  p.  247,  Table  iv. 
8  See  Appendix,  p.  248,  Table  v. 

4  Ireland  had  paid  for  mail  coach  tolls  from  the  first  and  this  partly  explains  the 
relatively  high  expenditure.  6  See  Appendix,  p.  248,  Table  v. 


RATES  AND   FINANCE  187 

The  increases  in  rates  in  1801,  1805,  and  1812  had  not  produced 
the  desired  and  expected  results.  The  increase  in  1801  had  been 
estimated  to  produce  £150,000  but  results  showed  that  this  esti- 
mate was  too  large  by  £35,000.  In  1805,  the  additional  penny  had 
resulted  in  an  increase  of  only  £136,000,  inclusive  of  any  natural 
increase  of  revenue,  although  it  had  been  estimated  to  produce 
£230,000.  The  third  increase  in  rates  in  1812  proved  even  less 
productive.  The  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  said  that  he  expected 
it  to  produce  £200,000.  As  a  matter  of  fact  the  revenue  increased 
only  £77,892  in  amount.  The  fact  of  the  matter  was  that  rates 
were  already  so  high  that  an  increase  only  led  to  greater  efforts  to 
evade  the  payment  of  postage.  As  a  system  of  taxation  the  Post 
Office  had  become  rigid.  It  could  yield  no  more  with  postage  as 
high  as  it  had  been  forced  by  the  acts  of  1801  and  1805.  But,  con- 
sidered primarily  as  a  taxing  medium,  and  it  had  been  considered 
as  such  for  200  years,  it  could  hardly  be  called  a  failure.  We  flatter 
ourselves  that  our  idea  of  the  Post  Office  is  broader  in  its  scope  and 
more  utilitarian  in  its  object  but  we  have  the  good  fortune  to  live 
several  generations  after  1840.  What  England  demanded  was 
revenue  and  still  more  revenue,  and  a  postal  system  which  could 
produce  £70  net  for  every  £100  collected  had  some  excuse  for  its 
existence. 

Rowland  Hill  has  pointed  out  that  from  1815  to  1835  the  pop- 
ulation had  increased  from  19,552,000  to  25,605,000  while  the  net 
revenue  from  the  Post  Office  had  remained  practically  stationary. 
He  said  nothing,  however,  about  the  industrial  depression  of  the 
country  during  that  period  nor  of  the  political  and  economic  crisis 
through  which  England  was  passing.  He  referred  to  the  great  in- 
crease in  the  postal  revenue  of  the  United  States  during  the  same 
period;  on  the  one  hand,  a  nation  with  immense  natural  resources 
and  a  population  doubling  itself  every  generation,  and  on  the  other 
hand,  a  people  inhabiting  two  small  islands,  making  heroic  efforts 
to  recover  from  a  most  burdensome  war. 

With  the  introduction  of  penny  postage  the  gross  revenue  of  the 
Post  Office  fell  from  £2,390,763  in  1840  to  £1,359,466  in  1841,  and 
did  not  fully  recover  from  the  decreased  postage  rates  for  twelve 
years.  The  cost  of  management,  on  the  other  hand,  increased  only 


1 88     THE^  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

from  £756,999  in  1840  to  £858,677  in  1841.  But  the  financial  loss 
is  shown  most  plainly  in  the  falling  off  in  net  revenue  from  £1,633,764 
to  £500,789.  If  we  exclude  packet  expenses,  and  such  was  the  prac- 
tice until  1858,  the  net  revenue  did  not  again  reach  the  maximum 
figure  of  high  postage  days  until  1862.  Including  packet  expenses 
we  find  that  the  net  revenue  did  not  fully  recover  until  the  early 
seventies.  The  average  yearly  gross  revenue  for  the  period  from 
1841-45  was  £1,658,214,  expenditure  £1,001,405,  and  the  net 
revenue  £656,809.  These  all  increased  steadily  and  on  the  whole 
proportionately  until  1860,  the  average  yearly  figures  for  the  pre- 
ceding five  years  being  £3,135,587?  £*>785>9">  and  £1,349,676.  In 
1858  the  packet  expenses  are  included  under  cost  of  management 
and  their  enormous  increase  from  the  beginning  of  the  century 
sadly  depleted  the  net  revenue.  It  seems  more  advisable,  however, 
not  to  include  them  until  1860  when  the  packets  passed  from  the 
control  of  the  Admiralty  to  that  of  the  Post  Office.  The  average 
gross  revenue  for  the  years  1861  to  1865  was  £4,016,750,  expendi- 
ture (including  packets)  £3,013,389,  and  net  revenue  £1,003,341. 
During  the  next  quarter  of  a  century  these  increased  to  £6,326,141, 
£4,019,423,  and  £2,306,718  respectively,  exclusive  of  telegraph 
receipts  and  expenditures.  For  the  five  years  ending  3ist  March, 
1906,  the  average  gross  revenue  was  £15,926,905,  expenditure 
£11,156,292,  and  net  revenue  £4,77o,6i3<1 

1  See  appendix,  pp.  249,  250,  251,  Table  vi ;  p.  252,  Table  vn. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  QUESTION  OF  MONOPOLY 

THE  question  of  the  state's  monopoly  and  the  opposing  efforts  of 
the  interlopers  to  break  this  monopoly  resolves  itself  into  a  consid- 
eration of  the  way  in  which  private  letters  were  carried,  for  the  pub- 
lic letters  were  entirely  at  the  disposal  of  the  state  to  be  dealt  with 
as  it  saw  fit.  From  the  sixteenth  century  there  were  several  ways 
in  which  private  letters  might  be  conveyed.  Within  the  kingdom 
they  might  be  sent  by  the  common  carriers,  friends,  special  mes- 
sengers, or  the  Royal  Posts.  Letters  sent  abroad  were  carried  by 
the  Royal  Posts,  the  Merchant  Adventurers'  Posts,  the  Strangers' 
Posts,  and  the  Merchants'  Posts  while  they  lasted.  The  fact  that 
private  letters  were  conveyed  by  the  Royal  Posts  is  generally  ex- 
pressed in  rather  indefinite  terms  or  by  references  to  proclamations, 
but  that  they  were  actually  so  conveyed  is  entirely  beyond  doubt.1 
In  1585  a  certain  Mr.  Lewkenor  informed  Walsingham  that  the 
post  just  landed  had  brought  many  letters  directed  to  merchants, 
besides  those  for  the  Court  and  Government.  He  asked  whether 
he  might  open  those  letters  which  were  directed  to  suspected-mer- 
chants.2  This  reference  is  of  course  to  letters  coming  from  abroad. 
The  same  holds  true  of  inland  letters,  for  in  1583  Randolph,  the 
Postmaster-General,  wrote  to  Walsingham,  enclosing  the  names  of 
those  "  who  charge  the  posts  with  their  private  letters  and  commis- 
sions at  a  penny  the  mile."  3 

In  1591  the  first  proclamation  affirming  the  government  mono- 
poly in  the  foreign  posts  was  issued.  All  persons  except  the  Post- 
master-General and  his  deputies  were  forbidden  "directly  or  in- 
directly to  gather  up,  receive,  bring  in  or  carry  out  of  this  realm  any 
letters  or  packets,"  the  only  exceptions  being  in  the  case  of  the 

1  G.  Roberts,  Social  History  of  the  Southern  Counties  of  England,  1856,  p.  508;  Joyce, 
p.  4.  2  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1581-90,  p.  131. 

*  Col.  S.  P.  D.,  1581-90,  p.  228;  1598-1601,  p.  427;  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  xiv,  601,  p.  4. 


190     THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

despatches  of  the  principal  Secretaries  of  State,  of  Ambassadors, 
and  others  sufficiently  authorized.  An  appendix  to  the  same  pro- 
clamation commanded  all  mayors,  bailiffs,  sheriffs,  justices,  etc., 
and  especially  all  searchers  to  be  on  the  watch  for  men  coming  into 
or  going  out  of  the  realm  with  packets  or  letters.  In  this  last  part 
of  the  proclamation  we  can  see  why  it  was  thought  necessary  to 
restrict  the  carriage  of  letters  to  and  from  foreign  countries  to  the 
Royal  Posts.  It  was  done  that  the  Government  might  be  able  to 
discover  any  treasonable  or  seditious  correspondence.  This  did  not 
always  remain  the  object  of  the  state  in  restricting  competition  but 
was  succeeded  later  by  other  and  different  motives.  In  order  that 
there  might  be  no  doubtabout  the  whole  question,  the  Postmaster- 
General  received  word  from  the  Council  to  inform  the  London  mer- 
chants, foreigners  as  well  as  British  subjects  and  all  others  whom  it 
might  concern,  that  they  should  no  longer  employ  any  others  to 
carry  their  letters  than  those  legally  appointed  in  accordance  with 
the  terms  of  the  proclamation.1 

In  1602  the  first  order  concerning  the  despatch  of  private  letters 
within  the  kingdom  was  issued  to  the  Royal  Posts.  "  The  Posts  for 
the  Queen's  immediate  service"2  were  allowed  to  carry  only  state 
despatches,  directed  by  members  of  the  council,  the  Postmaster- 
General  and  certain  officials.  Such  despatches  when  sent  by  the 
regular  posts  were  to  be  forwarded  immediately.  The  letters  of  all 
other  persons  allowed  to  write  by  post  must  wait  for  the  regular 
departure  of  the  postmen.  In  the  orders  to  the  posts  issued  in  1609, 
the  first  article  reads  as  follows:  "No  pacquets  or  letters  shall  be 
sent  by  the  Posts  or  bind  any  Post  to  ride  therewith  but  those  on 
Our  special  affairs."3  The  first  part  of  this  is  certainly  strong  but  it 
is  modified  by  the  succeeding  clause  "nor  bind  any  Post  to  ride 
therewith."  Evidently  he  might  if  he  wished,  and  he  would  prob- 
ably hesitate  longer  over  a  state  packet  for  the  conveyance  of  which 
he  was  never  assured  of  anything  than  over  a  private  letter  for 
which  he  was  certain  of  his  pay. 

It  was  the  custom  after  1609  to  follow  the  appointment  of  every 

1  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  xiv,  601,  p.  4;  app.,  p.  36  (14). 

2  By  "Posts  for  the  Queen's  immediate  service"  was  probably  meant  the  special 
messengers  attached  to  the  Court. 

»  CaL  S.  P.  D.,  1547-65,  pp.  215-77;  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  xiv,  601,  app.,  p.  42  (20). 


THE  QUESTION  OF  MONOPOLY  IQI 

new  Postmaster-General  with  a  proclamation  assigning  him  and  his 
deputies  the  sole  privilege  of  carrying  all  letters  and  reading  anath- 
ema upon  all  interlopers.1  Thus  King  James  favoured  Stanhope, 
his  Postmaster- General,  with  a  grant  of  monopoly.2  On  de  Quester's 
appointment  as  Foreign  Postmaster- General  a  proclamation  was 
issued,  forbidding  any  but  his  agents  from  having  anything  to 
do  with  foreign  letters.3  In  spite  of  the  improvements  which  he 
inaugurated,  we  find  him  asking  the  King  a  few  years  later  to 
renew  his  patent  of  monopoly  and  his  request  was  granted.4  He 
was  evidently  suffering  from  competition.  But  the  Merchant 
Adventurers'  Posts  were  not  yet  dead  and  their  Postmaster, 
Billingsley,  abetted  by  the  House  of  Commons,5  gave  de  Ques- 
ter  so  much  trouble  that  he  was  imprisoned  by  the  Council's 
order.6 

In  the  meantime  the  postmen  on  the  London-Plymouth  road  had 
petitioned  the  Council  that  they  alone  should  carry  the  letters  and 
despatches  of  the  merchants  over  their  road.  They  said  they  had 
so  improved  the  service  between  London  and  Plymouth  that  let- 
ters were  now  despatched  between  the  two  cities  in  three  days 
and  an  answer  might  be  received  within  one  week  from  the  time 
of  first  writing.  Their  complaint  was  against  a  certain  Samuel 
Jude,  who  had  undertaken  the  conveyance  of  the  London  mer- 
chants' letters.  Jude  himself  acknowledged  this,  but  said  that  he 
had  never  meddled  with  the  " through"  post  by  which  he  meant 
the  travellers'  post.7 

So  long  as  the  Royal  Posts  did  not  give  satisfaction,  competition 
was  inevitable.  Under  Witherings  they  had  improved  so  much  that 
what  competition  there  was,  received  no  support  from  the  London 
merchants.  In  1633  they  addressed  a  petition  to  the  King,  praying 
that  he  would  protect  Witherings  from  some  strangers  in  London, 

1  Letters  carried  by  a  friend  or  special  messenger  or  a  common  carrier  were  ex- 
cepted. 

2  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  xiv,  601,  app.,  p.  42  (20). 

8  Ibid.,  1591-94,  p.  401.  4  Ibid.,  1627-28,  pp.  511-22. 

5  The  House  had  already  shown  its  interest  in  postal  affairs  by  summoning  post- 
masters before  the  Committee  of  Grievances  in  1624  (Jo.  H.  C.,  1547-1628,  pp.  689- 

774). 

6  Cat.  S.  P.  D.,  1628-29,  p.  177.         7  Ibid.,  1625-49,  p.  367;  1629-31,  p.  200. 


IQ2     THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

who  had  set  up  posts  of  their  own.  They  pointed  out  how  he,  acting 
with  some  foreign  postmasters,  had  set  up  packet  posts,  travelling 
day  and  night.  By  means  of  these,  letters  were  conveyed  between 
London  and  Antwerp  in  three  days,  while  the  messengers  needed 
from  eight  to  fourteen  days  to  travel  the  same  distance.1  The  com- 
mon carriers  were  giving  trouble  in  the  despatch  of  inland  letters  at 
the  same  time  that  competition  in  the  foreign  posts  was  attracting 
attention.2  It  was  their  custom  to  send  their  carts  on  ahead  while 
they  lingered  to  collect  letters.  After  the  collection  they  hastened 
on,  leaving  their  carts  behind,  and  delivered  the  letters  on  the  way. 
It  was  provided  that  no  carrier  should  stay  longer  than  eight  hours 
in  a  place  after  his  cart  had  left  it,  or  arrive  in  any  place  eight  hours 
ahead  of  it.3  As  long  as  their  speed  was  governed  by  that  of  their 
lumbering  carts  over  the  wretched  roads,  no  fear  was  felt  that  their 
competition  would  prove  troublesome. 

With  the  growing  strength  of  Parliament,  more  and  more  oppo- 
sition was  made  to  the  grants  of  monopoly  and  their  enforcement. 
In  1642  the  House  of  Commons  passed  a  resolution  "  affirming  that 
the  taking  of  the  letters  from  the  several  carriers  and  the  several 
restraints  and  imprisonments  of  Grover,  Chapman,  Cotton,  and 
Mackerill  are  against  the  law."  The  House  proceeded  to  state  that 
these  several  persons  should  have  reparation  and  damages  from 
Coke,  Windebank,  and  Witherings.4  Four  years  later  a  report  was 
made  by  Justices  Pheasant  and  Rolls  on  Witherings'  patent.5  They 
held  that  the  clause  of  restraint  in  the  grant  to  Witherings  was 
void.6  This  decision  was  quite  in  accordance  with  the  views  of 
Parliament  when  they  opposed  the  King  and  all  his  works.  But 
after  Parliament  had  obtained  control  of  the  Posts,  "  the  President 
and  Governors  of  the  Poor  of  the  City  of  London"  proposed  to  the 
Common  Council  that  the  City  should  establish  a  postal  system  in 
order  to  raise  money  for  the  relief  of  the  poor  in  London.  A  com- 
mittee was  appointed  to  inform  Warwick,  Prideaux,  and  Witherings 

1  Cat.  S.  P.  D.,  1633-34,  p.  39.  *  Ibid.,  1637-38,  pp.  22,  171,  177,  183. 

1  Ibid.,  1637-38,  p.  193;  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  xiv,  601,  app.,  p.  58  (37). 
4  Jo.  H.  C.,  1640-42,  p.  722. 

6  These  were  the  same  judges  who  had  decided  in  favour  of  Stanhope's  patent  in 
Stanhope  v.  Witherings. 
8  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  xiv,  601,  app.,  p.  67  (42). 


THE  QUESTION  OF  MONOPOLY  193 

of  their  intention.  At  the  same  time  an  attempt  to  lay  a  petition 
before  Parliament  on  the  question  failed.  Counsel's  advice  was 
sought  and  obtained  in  favour  of  the  undertaking  and  in  1650  the 
Committee  received  orders  to  settle  the  stages.  At  the  end  of  six 
weeks  they  had  established  postal  communications  with  Scotland 
and  other  places.  Complaint  was  made  to  Parliament,  and  the 
Commons  passed  a  resolution  "  that  the  office  of  Postmaster,  inland 
and  foreign,  is  and  ought  to  be  in  the  sole  power  and  disposal  of  the 
Parliament."  The  same  year  the  city  posts  were  suppressed.1 

Oxenbridge  and  his  friends  who  had  set  up  posts  of  their  own 
gave  Prideaux  and  Manley  the  hardest  fight  that  any  Postmaster- 
General  ever  had  to  encounter  from  interlopers.  Joyce  says  that 
Oxenbridge  had  acted  as  Prideaux'  deputy.2  If  this  is  so,  he  was 
soon  up  in  arms  against  his  superior.  In  accordance  with  the  judi- 
cial decision  that  the  clause  in  Witherings'  patent  giving  him  a 
monopoly  of  the  carriage  of  letters  was  void,  Oxenbridge,  Black- 
wall,  Thomson,  and  Malyn  had  undertaken  the  private  conveyance 
of  letters  and  had  set  up  posts  of  their  own.  Prideaux  had  charged 
6d.  for  each  letter  and  had  organized  weekly  posts  from  and  to 
London.  Oxenbridge  charged  only  $d.  and  his  posts  went  from  and 
to  London  three  times  a  week.  Prideaux  then  did  the  same  and  set 
up  posters  announcing  that  the  interlopers'  posts  would  be  stopped. 
His  agents  assaulted  Oxenbridge's  servants  and  killed  one  of  them. 
He  also  stopped  his  rival's  mails  on  Sundays  but  allowed  his  own 
to  proceed  as  on  other  days.  In  addition  to  his  regular  tri-weekly 
mails,  Oxenbridge  provided  packet  boats  for  Ireland  and  intended 
to  settle  stages  between  London  and  Yarmouth  and  the  other 
places  named  by  the  Council  of  State.3  To  proceed  in  Oxenbridge's 
own  words:  "  Suddenly  contracts  were  called  for.  We  offered  £9100 
a  year  through  Ben  Andrews,  £800  more  than  was  offered  by  Man- 
ley,  yet  Colonel  Rich  allowed  Manley  to  take  advantage  of  an  offer 
made  by  Kendall  then  absent  and  not  privy  to  it  for  £10,000  a 
year.  Consideration  had  been  offered  by  Council,  but  Manley  had 
broken  into  our  offices,  taken  letters,  and  had  forbidden  us  from 

1  Chas.  Knight,  London,  1842,  iii,  p.  276;  R.  R.  Sharpe,  London  and  the  Kingdom, 
1894,  pp.  322-23.  a  Joyce,  p.  29. 

*  Col.  S.  P.  D.,  1653-54,  pp.  22-24, 372.  See  p.  33,  note. 


194      THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE' 

having  anything  to  do  with  the  post."  An  order  of  the  Council  of 
State,  bearing  the  same  date  as  the  grant  to  Manley,  was  sent  to 
Oxenbridge  and  his  friends,  informing  them  that  Manley  had  been 
given  the  sole  right  to  the  inland  and  foreign  letter  offices.1  This 
did  not  end  the  controversy,  for  six  months  later  we  find  Oxenbridge 
and  Thomson  complaining  that  a  monopoly  in  carrying  letters  had 
been  given  to  Manley.  They  claimed  that  all  who  wished  should  be 
allowed  to  carry  letters  at  the  ordinary  rates.2 

Of  all  the  interlopers  up  to  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, Oxenbridge  had  proved  himself  by  far  the  ablest.  From  the 
point  of  view  of  the  legal  decision  of  1646  and  the  position  of 
Parliament  before  1640,  his  position  was  unassailable.  With  the 
present  policy  of  the  Post  Office  in  view,  his  actions  will  probably 
be  condemned  by  the  majority.  But  in  1650  conditions  were  en- 
tirely different.  Before  1635  the  state  had  either  tacitly  allowed  the 
carriage  of  private  letters  to  the  profit  of  the  postmen  or  had  offi- 
cially taken  over  such  carriage ;  but  in  this  case  it  was  largely  for  the 
purpose  of  keeping  in  touch  with  the  plots  of  the  times.  For  200 
years  after  1635  the  idea  was  to  make  money  from  the  conveyance 
of  private  letters.  The  effects  of  Oxenbridge's  efforts  were  certainly 
beneficial  if  we  are  to  believe  his  own  story.  Prideaux  had  been 
forced  to  cut  his  rates  in  half  in  order  to  meet  competition.  The 
credit  for  this  must  lie  with  the  interloper  rather  than  with  the 
monopolist. 

At  the  same  time  that  Oxenbridge  was  giving  so  much  trouble, 
letters  were  being  carried  by  private  hands  in  Bury,  Dover,  and 
Norwich.  The  offenders  were  summoned  before  the  council  for 
contempt  and  severely  reprimanded.3  Petitions  came  from  Thet- 
ford  and  Norwich  complaining  that  their  messenger  had  been  sum- 
moned to  present  himself  before  the  Council  within  twenty-four 
hours  and  had  to  travel  100  miles  within  that  time,  an  impossibility 
in  the  opinion  of  the  petitioners.4  As  late  as  1635,  Prideaux,  the 
Attorney- General,  gave  his  opinion  that  Parliament's  monopolistic 
resolution  of  that  year  affected  only  the  office  of  Postmaster- 
General  and  not  the  carrying  of  letters.5  Perhaps  this  was  only  a 

i  Col.  S.  P.  D.,  1652-53,  p.  456.  2  Ibid.,  1653-54,  P-  372. 

*  Ibid.,  1653-54,  p.  177.    4  Ibid.,  1653-54,  p.  25.    6  Ibid.,  1652-53,  pp.  109-110. 


THE  QUESTION  OF  MONOPOLY  195 

bit  of  spite  on  his  part  after  Manley  had  succeeded  to  his  old  posi- 
tion. 

The  usual  monopolistic  powers,  hitherto  granted  by  proclama- 
tion, were  embodied  in  the  first  act  of  Parliament,  establishing  the 
postal  system  for  England,  Ireland,  and  Scotland  in  1657.  The 
Postmaster-General  was  given  the  sole  power  to  take  up,  carry  and 
convey  all  letters  and  packets  from  and  to  all  parts  of  the  Common- 
wealth and  to  any  place  beyond  the  seas  where  he  might  establish 
posts.  He  alone  was  to  employ  foot  posts,  horse  posts,  and  packet 
boats.  Some  exceptions  were  made  to  these  general  rules.  Letters 
were  allowed  to  be  conveyed  by  carriers  so  long  as  they  were  car- 
ried in  their  carts  or  on  their  pack-horses.  The  other  exceptions 
were  in  the  case  of  letters  of  advice  sent  by  merchants  in  their  ships 
and  proceeding  no  farther  than  the  ships  themselves,  and  also  in 
the  case  of  a  letter  sent  by  a  special  messenger  on  the  affairs  of  the 
sender,  and  in  the  case  of  a  letter  sent  by  a  friend.  Penalties  were 
attached  for  disobedience  to  this  part  of  the  act,  one  half  of  the  fine 
to  go  to  the  informer.1  The  same  provisions  were  enacted  almost 
word  for  word  in  the  act  of  1660,  with  the  addition  that  letters 
might  be  carried  by  any  one  between  any  place  and  the  nearest  post 
road  for  delivery  to  the  postman.2 

After  the  restoration  and  for  some  months  before  the  act  of  1660 
was  passed,  Bishop  had  acted  as  farmer  of  the  posts.  In  the  absence 
of  any  law  on  the  subject,  the  King's  proclamation  granting  a 
monopoly3  to  Bishop  was  freely  disregarded.4  Competing  posts  to 
and  from  London  sprang  up,  lessening  the  receipts  which  he  would 
otherwise  have  obtained  from  the  carriage  of  letters.  It  was  calcu- 
lated that  during  the  three  months  before  these  interlopers  could 
be  suppressed  Bishop  lost  £500  through  them,  and  orders  were 
given  to  allow  him  an  abatement  in  his  rent  to  that  amount.5 

In  1663  a  certain  Thomas  Ibson  attempted  to  come  to  an  agree- 
ment with  the  postmasters  on  the  Holyhead  road.  He  wished  to 

1  Scobell,  Collect.,  pt.  ii,  pp.  511-13.  s  12  Ch.  II,  c.  35. 

*  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1660-61,  p.  475. 

4  In  1659  a  book  was  published  by  John  Hill,  entitled  A  Penny  Post  —  A  vindica- 
tion of  the  Liberty  of  every  Englishman  in  carrying  merchants  and  other  men's  letters 
against  any  restraints  of  farmers  of  suck  employments  (Notes  and  Queries,  6th  ser.,  xi, 
p.  37).  6  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  xiv,  601,  app.,  p.  82  (57). 


196  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

have  the  privilege  of  horsing  travellers  and  made  an  offer  to  the 
postmasters  to  take  charge  of  the  post  houses  if  they  would  allow 
him  to  proceed.  He  told  them  that  they  should  make  an  attempt 
to  have  their  salaries  restored  to  their  old  value  by  Bishop,  who  had 
raised  so  much  from  them  by  fines  and  lowering  their  salaries.  The 
Postmaster- General  told  his  deputies  that  if  they  dared  to  treat 
with  the  "would-be"  interloper  he  would  dismiss  them,  and  the 
whole  thing  fell  through.1  At  the  same  time  a  warrant  was  issued 
by  the  Council  to  mayors  and  other  officials  to  search  for  and  appre- 
hend all  persons  carrying  letters  for  hire,  without  licence  from  the 
Postmaster-General.2  Nevertheless  interloping  did  notecase,  as  is 
shown  by  the  complaints  from  the  postmasters.3 

In  the  proclamation  following  the  appointment  of  O'Neale  as 
Postmaster- General  in  1663,  it  was  ordered  that  no  one  should  dare 
to  detail  or  open  a  letter  not  addressed  to  himself  unless  under 
a  warrant  from  one  of  the  Secretaries  of  State.  An  exception  was 
made  in  the  case  of  letters  carried  by  unauthorized  persons.  Such 
letters  should  be  seized  and  sent  to  the  Privy  Council.  In  later 
proclamations  it  was  provided  that  they  might  be  sent  also  to  one 
of  the  Secretaries  of  State  in  order  that  the  persons  sending  or 
conveying  them  might  be  punished.4 

After  Lord  Arlington's  appointment  as  Postmaster-General,  he 
addressed  a  petition  to  the  Duke  of  York  complaining  "  that  car- 
riers, proprietors  of  stage  coaches  and  others  take  upon  themselves 
to  collect  letters  to  an  incredible  number  and  on  some  stages  double 
what  the  post  brings."  On  account  of  this  he  pointed  out  to  His 
Royal  Highness  that  a  considerable  part  of  his  revenue  was  lost. 
This  was  quite  true  since  the  Post  Office  had  ceased  to  be  farmed 
and  the  whole  net  revenue  went  to  the  Duke.5  This  was  followed 
the  same  year  by  a  proclamation  forbidding  any  one  to  collect  or 
carry  letters  without  the  authority  of  the  Postmasters- General. 
Carriers  were  forbidden  to  convey  any  letters  which  were  not  on 
matters  relating  to  goods  in  their  carts.  Shipmasters  must  carry  no 
letters  beyond  the  first  stage  after  their  arrival  in  England  with  the 

1  Col.  S.  P.  D.,  1663-64,  pp.  8,  18. 

2  Ibid.,  1663-64,  p.  145.  *  Ibid.,  1663-64,  p.  402. 

4  Rep.  Com.,  1844,  xiv,  601,  app.,  p.  88  (61).        B  Cal.  S.  P.  D.,  1668-69,  P-  285. 


THE  QUESTION  OF  MONOPOLY  197 

exception  of  the  letters  of  merchants  and  owners.  Searchers  were 
appointed  to  see  that  the  proclamation  was  enforced.1  It  was  even 
proposed  to  suppress  all  hackney  coaches,  the  principal  reason 
given  being  that  they  decreased  the  value  of  the  Duke's  monopoly 
by  carrying  multitudes  of  letters.2 

It  is  a  curious  and  interesting  fact  that  for  a  short  time  London 
had  a  Half  Penny  Post,  established  in  1708  by  a  Mr.  Povey  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  regular  Penny  Post.  The  idea  was  much  the  same  as 
that  of  Dockwra's  although  Povey  seems  to  have  been  a  far  more 
belligerent  individual  than  his  forerunner  in  the  work.  The  Post- 
masters-General tried  to  come  to  some  compromise  with  him  but 
he  would  not  listen  to  them.  Finally  legal  action  was  brought 
against  him,  based  on  the  monopoly  granted  by  the  act  of  1660. 
Povey  lost  the  suit  and  his  project  fell  through.3  His  was  the  last 
attempt  to  organize  a  regular  system  of  competing  posts.  During 
the  remainder  of  the  eighteenth  century,  improvements  in  postal 
communications  disarmed  much  of  the  former  opposition.  Con- 
siderable damage  was  received  from  the  superior  speed  with  which 
letters  might  be  sent  by  coaches  but,  after  they  were  adopted  by 
the  Post  Office,  matters  naturally  adjusted  themselves.  Private 
vessels  continued  to  convey  letters  which  had  not  paid  the  rates 
prescribed  in  such  cases  by  the  act  of  1711,  but  this  breach  of  the 
law  was  tolerated  by  the  Post  Office.4 

Before  the  nineteenth  century,  opposition  to  the  government 
monopoly  had  taken  the  form  of  competing  systems  of  communica- 
tion, started  primarily  for  the  sake  of  making  money  and  at  the 
same  time  vindicating  the  principle  of  competition.  During  the 
first  forty  years  of  the  nineteenth  century  there  was  no  opposition 
to  the  Post  Office  as  a  monopoly.  The  wide-spread  dissatisfaction 
was  due  to  the  exorbitant  rates  of  postage  and  this  dissatisfaction 
expressed  itself  in  attempts  to  evade  these  rates  but,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  individual  messengers  and  carriers,  there  was  no  com- 
peting system  of  postal  communication  established.  Opposition 
took  the  form  of  evasion  of  postage  payments  by  legal  and  illegal 
means.  The  various  exceptions  to  the  government  monopoly  con- 

1  Cal.  S.  P.  ZX,  1668-69,  P-  376.  2  Ibid.,  1672-73,  p.  64. 

8  Knight,  London,  1842,  iii,  p.  282;  Joyce,  pp.  121-23.      _>_    4  J°yce>  P-  329- 


198     THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

tinued  unchanged1  until  still  further  modified  in  1837.  The  addi- 
tional modifications  were  in  the  case  of  commissions  and  returns, 
affidavits,  writs  and  legal  proceedings,  and  letters  sent  out  of  the 
United  Kingdom  by  private  vessels.2  The  penalty  for  infringing 
upon  the  postal  monopoly  was  placed  at  £5  for  every  offence  or 
£100  a  week  if  the  offence  was  continued.3 

During  the  official  postal  year  from  July  1831  to  July  1832,  there 
were  133  successful  prosecutions  for  illegally  sending  and  conveying 
letters.  The  fines  collected  amounted  to  £1635,  the  costs  paid  by 
defendants  to  £1085.  The  prosecutions  were  generally  for  a  few 
letters  only  and  the  great  majority  of  the  cases  were  brought  in 
Manchester.  In  the  case  of  forty-one  additional  actions,  the  Post- 
master-General did  not  enforce  the  penalties,  certain  explanations 
having  been  given.4  Rowland  Hill  thought  that  the  conveyance  of 
letters  by  private  and  unauthorized  people  was  very  widespread 
and  the  Solicitor  of  the  Post  Office  agreed  with  him.5 

The  reports  of  the  Committee  appointed  to  enquire  into  the  con- 
dition of  the  Post  Office  and  to  hear  the  opinions  of  officials  and  the 
public  concerning  the  introduction  of  Penny  Postage  disclosed  an 
amazing  state  of  affairs.  The  opinion  that  evasion  of  postage  was 
more  or  less  general  had  been  held  by  the  public  for  some  time  as 
well  as  by  a  few  of  the  Post  Office  officials 6  but,  after  the  evidence 
upon  the  question  was  published,  there  was  no  longer  any  doubt 
that  the  views  of  the  public  were  correct.  Some  difficulty  had  been 
anticipated  that  men  who  had  violated  the  law  of  the  land  would 
prefer  not  to  confess  their  misdeeds  before  a  Parliamentary  Com- 
mittee. They  were  accordingly  assured  that  any  evidence  given 
would  not  be  used  against  them,  and  the  names  of  some  were  ex- 
pressed by  letters  only,  when  the  reports  were  published. 

The  means  by  which  postage  rates  were  evaded  may  be  conven- 
iently grouped  under  two  main  heads,  legal  and  illegal.  The  most 

1  9  Anne,  c.  10;  42  Geo.  Ill,  c.  81;  46  Geo.  Ill,  c.  92;  53  Geo.  Ill,  c.  58;  5  Geo.  IV, 
c.  20. 

3  7  Wm.  IV  and  i  Viet.,  c.  33.  3  7  Wm.  IV  and  i  Viet.,  c.  36. 

4  Ace.  &•  P.,  1834,  xlix,  19,  pp.  2-7. 

6  Rep.  Com.,  1837-38,  xx,  pt.  i,  pp.  17,  23. 

6  Ibid.,  1837-38,  xx,  questions  234,  2883,  4692,  10870-74;  rep.  i,  app.,  pp.  427. 
43 1,  4335  rep.  2,  p.  32. 


THE  QUESTION  OF  MONOPOLY  199 

common  methods  of  evading  postage  in  whole  or  in  part  by  legal 
means  were :  — 

By  the  use  of  Parliamentary  and  Official  franks.1 
By  enclosing  invoices  and  other  communications  in  goods.2 
By  the  use  of  codes  and  signals  expressed  by  sending  particular 
newspapers  or,  when  something  in  the  nature  of  news  or  reports 
was  to  be  communicated  to  many,  an  advertisement  or  report  was 
printed  in  a  newspaper  and  the  newspapers  were  sent.3 

By  means  of  a  letter  or  package  sent  to  a  mercantile  house  with 
many  letters  on  one  sheet  of  paper  for  other  people.  These  were 
delivered  by  messengers.  Money  was  sometimes  sent  in  the  same 
way.4 

Many  factors  in  Ireland  had  circulars  printed,  which  went  free, 
as  newspapers.  Their  correspondents  were  distinguished  by  num- 
bers and  opposite  the  numbers  were  printed  the  communications 
for  each  particular  person.5 

The  majority  of  letters  which  paid  no  postage  or  only  partial 
postage  were  sent  illegally,  most  of  them  by  carriers.  "A.  B."  said 
that  in  1836  his  mercantile  house  sent  2068  letters  by  post  and  5861 
by  other  means,  principally  by  carriers,  for  one  penny  each.6  "C. 
D. "  testified  that  carriers  called  once  or  twice  a  day  at  his  house 
and  that  they  received  from  100  to  150  letters  a  week  from  him. 
Sometimes  the  carriers  delivered  the  letters  on  foot,  sometimes  they 
went  by  coach.7  "E.  F.'s"  letters  were  carried  by  newsmen,  who 
distributed  the  local  newspaper.8  "  G.  H.,"  a  carrier  from  Scotland, 
said  that  there  were  six  others  working  with  him  and  that  they 
delivered  about  700  letters  and  parcels  a  day,  for  which  they  re- 
ceived id.  or  2d.  each.9  Letters  were  also  illegally  conveyed:  — 

1  Rep.  Com.,  1837-38,  xx,qs.  3452,  3754~S6,  4330-33,  4152,6059,6204,6971,8051, 
9122-30,  10481,  5486-92-95,  4934-45,  5536,  3953,  6174-87.  By  this  means  Dr. 
Dionysius  Lardner  sent  and  received  the  greater  part  of  an  extensive  literary  corres- 
pondence (qs.  5487-96). 

a  Ibid.,  1837-38,  xx,  qs.  3206-07,  3368-69,  3516-45,  3872,  4080,  4116-17,  4906, 
5434,  6895,  7740,  7742-50,  7242-48-  «  Ibid.,  1837-38,  xx,  qs.  3923,  6683,  7419-23- 

4  Ibid.,  qs.  3212-13,  3924-28,  3377-8i,  3879-82,  4504,  6928,  7867-82,  5613-18, 
4074,  4873-90,  3520,  7327.  6  Ibid.,  rep.  i,  9,  p.  427.  6  Ibid.,  qs.  2265,  2279. 

7  Ibid.,  1837-38,  xx,  qs.  2697,  2699,  2703.  8  Ibid.,  qs.  4229. 

9  Ibid.,  qs.  5125-26.  In  Walsall  not  1-50  part  of  the  letters  sent  to  and  from 
neighbouring  places  went  by  post  (qs.  5681-5789). 


200     THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

By  "free-packets,"  containing  the  patterns  and  correspondence 
of  merchants,  which  the  coachmen  carried  free  except  for  the  book- 
ing fee  of  4-d.1 

In  warehousemen's  bales  and  parcels.2 

In  weavers'  bags,  especially  near  Glasgow.  These  were  bags  con- 
taining work  for  the  weavers,  sent  by  and  returned  to  the  manu- 
facturers.3 

By  "family-boxes."  Students  at  college  in  Glasgow  and  Edin- 
burgh were  accustomed  to  receive  boxes  of  provisions,  etc.,  from 
home.  The  neighbours  made  use  of  them  to  carry  letters.4 

By  coachmen,  guards,  travellers  and  private  individuals.6 

By  vans,  railways,  stage-coaches,  steamboats,  and  every  con- 
ceivable means.6 

By  writing  in  newspapers,  sometimes  with  invisible  ink  or  by 
enclosing  accounts  or  letters  in  them.7 

About  half  of  the  letters  and  parcels  sent  to  the  seaports  for 
transmission  to  foreign  parts  by  private  ships  did  not  go  through 
the  Post  Office,8  and  this  practice  was  more  or  less  winked  at  by 
the  authorities.9  The  letters  from  Liverpool  for  the  United  States 
numbered  122,000  a  year,  but  only  69,000  of  these  passed  through 
the  Post  Office.10 

Since  the  Post  Office  has  adopted  the  policy  of  charging  low 
uniform  rates  of  postage  there  has  been  no  concerted  attempt  to 
infringe  upon  its  monopoly.  The  dissatisfied  do  not  now  attempt 
to  establish  competing  posts  nor  to  evade  the  payment  of  the  legal 
rates.  Any  pressure  which  may  be  brought  to  remedy  real  or  sup- 
posed grievances  takes  the  form  of  an  attempt  to  influence  the 
department  itself.  It  is  true  that  a  private  messenger  service  was 
established  for  the  delivery  of  letters,  but  the  promoters  of  that 
service  seem  to  have  been  unaware  of  the  fact  that  they  were  act- 
ing in  violation  of  the  law,  and  a  satisfactory  agreement  with  the 
department  was  soon  concluded.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  is  a  question 

1  Rep.  Com.,  1837-38,  xx,  qs.  4195-96,  4205.  z  Ibid.,  qs.  3550,  4065,  4194,  6947. 
1  Ibid.,  qs.  5257-59.  *  Ibid.,  qs.  5265. 

6  Ibid.,  qs.  6716,  10371.  8  Ibid.,  qs.  6514. 

7  Ibid.,  qs.  497,  3008,  5525-26,  5329,  5186-88,  5983,  8962,  10,021;  app.  to  part  2, 
p.  34.  8  Ibid.,  pt.  I,  pp.  195-99*  204-30,  346,  351,  431. 

9  Ibid.,  pt.  i,  pp.  195-99.  lo  IW»>  Pt-  i,  P-  364- 


THE  QUESTION  OF  MONOPOLY  2OI 

whether  succeeding  governments  have  not  been  too  subservient 
in  granting  the  demands  of  certain  sections  of  the  people,  notably 
in  connection  with  the  telegraph  and  telephone  systems  and  the 
question  of  guarantees.  The  position  of  a  government  which  has 
abandoned  the  principle  that  any  extension  of  services  or  change 
in  postal  policy  shall  be  based  upon  present  or  anticipated  financial 
success  must  necessarily  be  a  difficult  one. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  TELEGRAPH  SYSTEM  AS  A  BRANCH  OF  THE  POSTAL 
DEPARTMENT 

PREVIOUS  to  the  acquisition  of  the  telegraphs  by  the  state,  the 
different  telegraphic  companies  carried  on  their  business  in  com- 
parative harmony,  a  harmony  which  was  occasionally  disturbed  by 
the  entrance  into  the  field  of  competition  of  new  claimants  for  the 
confidence  of  the  public.  By  far  the  most  important  of  these  com- 
panies in  1855  were  the  Electric  and  International,  and  the  British 
and  Irish  Magnetic,  controlling  between  them  about  8500  miles 
of  line  and  having  600  stations  open  to  the  public.  During  the  suc- 
ceeding ten  years,  by  the  growth  of  the  old  companies  and  an  in- 
crease in  the  number  of  the  new,  the  number  of  miles  of  line  in- 
creased to  16,000,  of  telegraph  stations  to  2040.  The  number  of 
public  messages  sent  in  1855  was  a  little  more  than  one  million,  in 
1860  nearly  two  millions,  and  in  1865  over  four  millions  and  a  half. 
The  rates  for  a  message  of  twenty  words  varied  from  15.  for  a  dis- 
tance under  fifty  miles,  plus  15.  for  each  additional  fifty  miles,  to 
45.  for  a  distance  over  150  miles  and  55.  to  Dublin,  including  free 
delivery  within  half  a  mile  from  the  telegraph  office.1 

In  1860  a  competing  company,  the  London  District  Telegraph 
Company,  started  operations  in  the  Metropolitan  District,  and 
offered  a  low  rate  of  6d.  a  message.  In  the  following  year  a  far 
more  dangerous  rival,  the  United  Kingdom  Telegraph  Company, 
announced  that  henceforth  it  would  charge  a  uniform  shilling  rate 
irrespective  of  distance.  Four  years  later  both  of  these  companies 
fell  into  line,  forced  according  to  some  by  the  unfair  tactics  of  their 
competitors,  according  to  others  by  the  utter  impossibility  of 
making  both  ends  meet,  while  charging  a  uniform  rate  irrespective 
of  distance.  The  tariff  agreed  to  in  1865  was  as  follows:  — 

1  Ace.  fir  P.,  1867-68,  xli,  202,  pp.  43,  73,  74. 


THE  TELEGRAPH  SYSTEM  203 

For  a  distance  not  exceeding  100  miles  is. 

from  100  to  200  miles  15.  6d. 

beyond  200  miles  25. 

Between  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  from  35.  to  6s. 

In  some  cases  these  rates  applied  only  to  wires  of  a  single  com- 
pany, and,  where  a  message  was  transmitted  over  the.  wires  of 
two  or  more  companies,  an  additional  charge  was  made.  Special 
rates  were  offered  for  press  messages,  the  news  being  supplied  by 
the  agency  of  the  intelligence  department  of  the  telegraph  com- 
panies.1 

The  earliest  proposal  for  government  ownership  of  the  telegraphs 
seems  to  have  originated  with  Thomas  Allan,  the  same  Allan  who 
was  later  instrumental  in  establishing  the  United  Kingdom  Tele- 
graph Company.  In  1854  he  submitted  arguments  to  the  govern- 
ment through  Sir  Rowland  Hill  in  favour  of  the  change,  arguments 
which  met  with  the  approval  of  Lord  Stanley,  the  President  of  the 
Board  of  Trade,  and  Mr.  Ricardo,  formerly  Chairman  of  the  Inter- 
national Electric  Telegraph  Company,  and  ex-member  for  Stoke. 
Two  years  later  Mr.  Barnes,  an  official  in  the  Post  Office  Depart- 
ment, submitted  to  my  Lords  a  plan  "for  the  establishment  in  con- 
nection with  the  Post  Office  of  a  comprehensive  scheme  of  electric 
telegraphs  throughout  the  kingdom."  In  1866,  Lord  Stanley,  as 
Postmaster-General,  in  a  letter  to  the  Lords  of  the  Treasury 
called  their  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  question  of  the  propriety 
of  the  assumption  by  the  government  of  the  telegraphic  systems  of 
the  Kingdom  had  been  revived  in  the  previous  year  by  the  Edin- 
burgh Chamber  of  Commerce,  and  still  more  recently  the  propo- 
sition had  been  embodied  in  a  petition  from  the  Association  of 
Chambers  of  Commerce  of  the  United  Kingdom.  As  he  himself 
had  for  many  years  been  in  favour  of  such  a  change  and  found  his 
opinion  shared  by  more  than  one  important  body  of  public  men, 
he  directed  Mr.  Scudamore 2  to  report  whether,  in  his  opinion, 
the  telegraphs  could  be  successfully  operated  by  the  Post  Office, 
whether  such  operation  would  result  in  any  advantages  to  the 

1  Ace.  &•  P.,  1867-68,  xli,  202,  pp.  87-88, 126;  Rep.  Com.,  1867-68,  xi,  435,  pp.  31, 
68. 
*  Receiver  and  Accountant-General  of  the  Post-Office. 


204  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

public  over  the  present  system  by  means  of  private  companies, 
and  whether  it  would  entail  upon  the  department  any  large  ex- 
penditure beyond  the  purchase  of  existing  rights.1 

The  report  presented  by  Mr.  Scudamore  was  strongly  in  favour 
of  the  control  of  the  telegraphs  by  the  Post  Office,  and  is  especially 
interesting  in  furnishing  an  abstract  of  the  evils  which  the  people 
considered  that  the  companies  were  inflicting  upon  them.  The 
most  important  of  these  evils,  real  or  imaginary,  were  as  follows :  — 

Exorbitant  charges  and  a  resulting  failure  to  expand  on  the  part 
of  the  system. 

Delay  and  inaccuracy  in  the  transmission  of  messages. 

Failure  to  serve  many  important  towns  and  communities. 

Inconvenient  situation,  in  many  places,  of  the  telegraph  office, 
it  being  often  at  a  considerable  distance  from  the  business  centre  of 
the  town,  especially  when  in  the  railway  station. 

Inconveniently  short  periods  that  offices  are  open  in  many 
places. 

Wasteful  competition  between  the  companies. 

The  strongest  argument  against  the  existing  condition  was  rather 
a  result  of  competition  than  private  ownership.  In  the  more  popu- 
lous centres  the  companies  very  often  had  their  telegraph  offices 
at  a  very  short  distance  from  each  other,  being  so  situated  as  to 
compete  for  the  public  patronage,  while  other  and  more  outlying 
portions  of  the  town  were  quite  unserved.  The  latter  were  thus 
made  to  suffer  in  order  that  favoured  portions  might  enjoy  the 
somewhat  doubtful  boon  of  competition.  In  order  to  show  the 
failure  to  extend  telegraphic  facilities,  Mr.  Scudamore  compiled 
a  list  of  towns  in  England  and  Wales  having  an  individual  popula- 
tion of  two  thousand  or  more.  In  his  own  words  "So  far  as  tele- 
graphic accommodation  is  concerned,  while  thirty  per  cent  of  the 
whole  number  of  places  named  ...  are  well  served,  forty  per  cent 
are  indifferently  served,  twelve  per  cent  badly  served,  and  eighteen 
per  cent,  having  an  aggregate  population  of  more  than  half  a  mil- 
lion persons,  not  served  at  all."  By  combining  the  telegraphic 
business  with  the  postal  service,  there  seemed  every  reason  to  sup- 
pose that  its  advantages  could  be  more  widely  extended,  the  hours 
1  Rep.  Com.,  1867-68,  xi,  435,  p.  108;  Ace.  fir  P.,  1867-68,  xli,  202,  p.  7. 


THE  TELEGRAPH  SYSTEM  205 

of  attendance  increased,  charges  reduced,  and  facilities  given  for 
the  transmission  of  money  orders  by  telegraph. 

Mr.  Scudamore  proposed  to  open  telegraph  offices  in  all  places 
which  had  a  population  of  2000  and  upwards  and  which  already 
had  money-order  offices.  All  other  post  offices  were  empowered  to 
receive  telegrams,  which  were  to  be  sent  by  post  to  the  nearest 
telegraph  office  for  transmission.  The  charge  was  to  be  made  uni- 
form at  is.  for  twenty  words  and  6d.  for  each  additional  ten  words, 
or  part  thereof.  He  judged  that  the  whole  of  the  property  and 
rights  of  the  telegraph  companies  might  be  purchased  for  a  sum 
within  £2,400,000,  and  £100,000  more  would  have  to  be  spent  in 
the  extension  of  the  service.  His  estimate  for  gross  annual  product 
was  £676,000;  annual  charge,  £81,250;  working  expenses,  £456,- 
ooo ;  surplus,  £138, 750.1  Finally,  his  reply  to  Lord  Stanley's 
question  was  in  effect  that  the  telegraph  system  might  be  bene- 
ficially worked  by  the  Post  Office,  that  there  would  be  advantages 
thus  obtained  over  any  system  of  private  ownership,  and  that 
the  Post  Office  would  have  to  bear  no  expense  not  amply  covered 
by  the  revenue.2  In  fairness  to  Mr.  Scudamore,  it  should  be  remem- 
bered that  his  original  low  estimate  of  the  probable  cost  of  the 
telegraph  companies  did  not  include  Renter's  and  other  important 
companies.  In  addition,  the  strict  monopoly  conferred  in  1869, 
with  the  necessary  accompaniment  of  the  purchase  of  all  inland 
telegraph  companies,  entirely  upset  his  original  estimates.  Fin- 
ally, the  decision  to  include  the  public  telegraph  business  of  the 
railways  and  the  excessive  price  paid  to  the  railway  and  telegraph 
companies  should  not  be  forgotten  in  contrasting  the  estimated 
price  with  that  eventually  paid  for  the  acquisition  of  the  telegraph 
systems  in  the  United  Kingdom.3  Mr.  Grimston,  the  Chairman 
of  the  Electric  and  International  Telegraph  Company,  contended 
that  the  extension  of  telegraphic  facilities  to  any  considerable 
number  of  small  towns  and  villages  would  involve  a  loss  to  the 
state  by  greatly  increasing  working  expenses,  that  village  post- 

1  In  another  place  his  estimate  for  gross  revenue  was  £608,000;  annual  charge 
£105,000  on  a  purchase  price  of  £3,000,000  with  expenses  for  improvement;  working 
expenses  £425,000,  and  surplus  £77,75°  (Ace.  &  P.,  1867-68,  xli,  202,  pp.  145-47). 

1  Ibid.,  pp.  7-39- 

*  Parl.  Deb.,  3d  ser.,  ccxxviii,  col.  215;  cxcii,  coll.  747-751. 


206     THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

masters  and  postmistresses  were  totally  unable  to  work  the  tele- 
graphs, and  that  consolidation  could  be  effected  more  advantag- 
eously by  the  companies  themselves.1 

In  1868,  the  Postmaster- General  was  given  authority  by  act  of 
Parliament  to  purchase  the  undertakings  of  the  telegraph  com- 
panies and  also  the  interests  of  the  railways  in  the  conveyance 
of  public  messages,  together  with  a  perpetual  way-leave  for  tele- 
graphic purposes  over  the  properties  of  the  railway  companies. 
Any  telegraph  company,  with  the  authority  of  two  thirds  of  the 
votes  of  its  shareholders,  was  empowered  to  sell  to  the  Postmaster- 
General  all  or  any  portion  of  its  undertaking.  When  the  Post- 
master-General had  acquired  the  property  of  any  telegraph  com- 
pany, he  must  also,  upon  the  request  of  any  other  company,  pur- 
chase its  undertaking,  this  privilege  being  extended  also  to  the 
railways  so  far  as  telegraphs  operated  by  them  for  transmitting 
public  messages  were  concerned.  The  price  paid  for  the  Electric 
and  International,  the  British  and  Irish  Magnetic,  and  the 
United  Kingdom  Telegraph  Companies  was  fixed  at  twenty  years' 
purchase  of  their  net  profits  for  the  year  ending  3oth  June, 
1868.  In  the  case  of  the  United  Kingdom  Telegraph  Company 
additional  sums  were  to  be  paid  for  the  Hughes  type-printing 
patent,  for  the  estimated  aggregate  value  of  its  ordinary  share 
capital  as  determined  by  its  highest  quotation  on  any  day  between 
the  ist  and  25th  days  of  June,  1868,  for  compensation  for  the  loss 
of  prospective  profits  on  its  ordinary  shares,  and  any  sum  that 
might  be  determined  as  loss  for  its  attempt  to  establish  a  uniform 
shilling  rate.  Every  officer  or  clerk  of  the  companies  who  had  been 
in  receipt  of  a  salary  for  not  less  than  five  years  or  of  remuneration 
amounting  to  not  less  than  £50  a  year  for  not  less  than  seven  years, 
if  he  received  no  offer  from  the  Postmaster- General  of  an  appoint- 
ment in  the  telegraphic  department  of  the  Post  Office  equal  in  the 
opinion  of  an  arbitrator  to  his  former  position,  was  entitled  to 
receive  an  annuity  equal  to  two  thirds  of  his  annual  emolument 
if  he  had  been  in  service  twenty  years,  such  annuity  to  be  dimin- 
ished by  one  twentieth  for  every  year  less  than  twenty.  Those 
entering  the  service  of  the  Postmaster-General  were  entitled  to 

1  Ace.  &  P.,  1867-68,  xli,  202,  p.  131. 


THE  TELEGRAPH  SYSTEM  207 

count  their  past  continuous  years  of  service  with  the  companies 
as  years  in  the  service  of  the  Crown. 

For  the  most  part  all  the  telegraph  apparatus  belonging  to  the 
railway  companies  and  all  belonging  to  the  telegraph  companies 
on  the  railway  lines  necessary  for  the  private  business  of  the  rail- 
ways were  handed  over  to  the  railways  by  the  Postmaster-General 
free  of  charge.  He  was  given  the  use,  from  telegraph  stations  not 
on  the  railway  lines,  of  all  the  wires  of  the  telegraph  companies 
on  the  lines  employed  exclusively  in  the  public  telegraph  business. 
The  railways  might  affix  wires  to  the  posts  of  the  Postmaster- 
General  on  the  line,  and  in  like  manner  he  might  require  the  rail- 
ways to  affix  wires  to  their  own  posts  for  the  use  of  the  Post  Office 
or  erect  new  posts  and  wires.  Finally  the  railways  were  required 
to  act  as  agents  of  the  Postmaster- General,  if  required,  for  receiv- 
ing and  transmitting  messages.  The  railways  as  a  rule  succeeded 
in  driving  a  very  sharp  bargain  with  the  Government  for  the  pur- 
chase of  their  interests  in  the  public  telegraph  business.  The  price 
paid  was  twenty  years'  purchase  of  the  net  receipts  from  public 
telegrams  reckoned  for  the  year  ending  3oth  June,  1868,  plus 
twenty  times  the  increase  in  net  receipts  for  the  three  preceding 
years  or  for  such  shorter  period  as  the  business  of  transmitting 
public  telegrams  had  been  undertaken.  In  addition,  compensation 
was  made  for  the  rents,  etc.,  payable  to  the  railways  by  the  tele- 
graph companies,  for  the  unexpired  period  of  their  respective 
agreements,  for  the  right  of  way  obtained  by  the  Postmaster- 
General  over  the  lands  of  the  railways,  for  the  loss  of  power  on  the 
part  of  the  railways  to  grant  way-leaves,  for  the  value  of  the  rail- 
ways' reversionary  interests  (if  any)  in  the  transmission  of  public 
messages  on  the  expiration  of  the  agreements  with  the  telegraph 
companies,  and  for  any  loss  the  railways  might  suffer  in  working 
their  telegraph  business  as  a  separate  concern.  Finally  the  Post- 
master-General was  required  to  convey  free  of  charge  to  any  part 
of  the  United  Kingdom  all  messages  of  the  railways  relating  to 
their  own  private  business.1  The  act  empowering  the  Postmaster- 
General  to  purchase  the  undertakings  of  the  telegraph  companies 
did  not  confer  upon  the  Post  Office  a  monopoly  in  the  transmission 
1  31  and  32  Viet.,  c.  no. 


208     THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

of  telegrams,  Mr.  Scudamore  himself  declaring  that  such  a  monop- 
oly was  neither  desirable  nor  did  the  Post  Office  wish  it.  The  sec- 
ond act,  however,  declared  that  no  telegraphic  messages,  except 
those  sent  from  or  to  any  place  outside  of  the  United  Kingdom, 
should  be  transmitted  by  any  telegraphic  company  for  gain  unless 
the  company  was  in  existence  on  the  22d  of  June,  1869,  and  was 
not  for  the  time  being  acquired  by  the  Postmaster- General,  who 
should  be  required  to  purchase  its  undertaking  upon  demand.1 

Mr.  Scudamore's  original  estimate  of  the  cost  of  acquisition  of 
the  telegraphs  fell  far  short  of  the  final  expenditure;  although  it 
must  be  remembered  that,  when  he  proposed  £2,500,000  as  suffi- 
cient, he  did  not  anticipate  items  of  expense  which  later  vastly 
increased  the  cost.  Before  the  committee  which  reported  in  1868 
he  advanced  his  original  estimate  to  £6,000,000,  and  in  the  follow- 
ing year  to  £6,750,000,  of  which  he  considered  about  two  thirds 
to  be  of  the  nature  of  good- will.  The  telegraph  companies  when  first 
approached  asked  for  twenty-five  years'  purchase  of  their  prospect- 
ive profits,  and  the  Government  offered  to  buy  at  the  highest  price 
realized  on  the  Stock  Exchange  up  to  the  25th  of  May,  with  an 
addition  of  from  10  to  15  per  cent  for  compulsory  sale.  The  cost 
of  the  leading  companies,  based  upon  twenty  years'  purchase  of 
the  net  profits  for  the  year  ending  3oth  June,  1868,  was  as  follows: 
For  the  Electric  and  International,  £2,933,826;  for  the  British 
and  Irish  Magnetic,  £1,243,536;  for  Reuter's,  £726,000;  for  the 
United  Kingdom  Electric,  £562,000;  and  for  the  Universal  Private, 
£184,421,  —  a  total  of  £5,650,047.  Separate  bargains  followed 
with  many  smaller  companies.  The  acts  of  1868  and  1869  granted 
£8,000,000,  for  the  purpose  of  purchasing  the  undertakings  of  the 
companies  and  the  interests  of  the  railways;  £6,640,000  were  spent 
in  purchases,  and  £1,560,000  in  renewals  and  extensions  between 
1868  and  i872.2  The  claims  for  compensation  on  the  part  of  some 

1  32  and  33  Viet.,  c.  75. 

9  Rep.  Com.,  1867-68,  xi,  435,  p.  162;  1868-69,  vi,  348,  p.  n;  1867-68,  xi,  435,  p. 
217;  1873,  xxxix,  316,  pp.  762-64;  1873,  vii,  290,  p.  95;  Parl.  Deb.,  36  ser.,  cxcii,  coll. 
747-751,  1303-04. 

According  to  figures  furnished  by  Mr.  Fowler  in  a  speech  in  the  House  of  Commons 
in  1868,  the  value  of  the  capital  and  the  debentures  of  the  Electric  and  International 
at  that  time  was  £1,240,000  while  the  capital  value  of  the  British  and  Irish  Magnetic 


THE  TELEGRAPH  SYSTEM  2Og 

of  the  railways  were  very  excessive.  The  Lancashire  and  Yorkshire 
Railway  asked  for  £1,129,814,  with  interest,  and  £i  per  wire  per 
mile  a,  year  for  all  wires  erected  upon  its  right  of  way  by  or  for 
the  Post  Office.  By  the  terms  of  the  award  they  obtained  £169,197 
and  15.  per  mile  per  wire.  The  Great  Eastern  Railway  presented  a 
claim  for  £412,608,  with  interest,  and  £i  per  mile  per  wire.  Their 
claim  was  reduced  to  £73,315  and  an  annual  payment  of  £200  for 
way-leave.  In  all,  the  capital  sum  of  £10,880,571  was  expended 
by  the  Government,  necessitating  an  annual  interest  payment  of 
£326,417,  charged,  not  on  the  Post  Office  vote,  but  on  the  Con- 
solidated Fund.1 

When  the  Post  Office  acquired  the  telegraphs,  a  uniform  rate  was 
introduced  of  15.  for  twenty  words  or  part  thereof  and  $d.  for  each 
additional  five  words  or  part  thereof,  exclusive  of  the  names  and 
addresses  of  sender  and  receiver,  which  were  transmitted  free. 
Delivery  was  free  within  a  radius  of  one  mile  from  the  terminal 
telegraphic  office,  or  within  the  limit  of  the  town  postal  delivery 
when  it  contained  a  head  office  and  the  postal  delivery  extended 
more  than  a  mile  from  it.  Beyond  the  above  limits  the  charge  did 
not  exceed  6d.  per  double  mile  or  part  thereof.  When  special  de- 
livery was  not  required  beyond  the  free  delivery,  the  message  was 
sent  free  by  the  next  ordinary  postal  delivery.  The  newspapers  suc- 
ceeded in  having  incorporated  within  the  act  a  clause  prohibiting 
a  higher  charge  for  press  messages  than  is.  for  every  one  hundred 
words  transmitted  between  6  P.M.  and  9  A.M.,  or  15.  for  every 
seventy-five  words  between  9  A.M.  and  6  P.M.  when  sent  to  a  single 
address,  the  charge  for  the  transmission  of  the  same  telegram  to  each 
additional  address  to  be  not  greater  than  2d.z  On  the  day  of  trans- 
fer the  Post  Office  was  able  to  open  about  a  thousand  postal  tele- 
graph offices  and  nineteen  hundred  offices  at  railway  stations  where 
the  railways  dealt  with  the  public  messages  as  agents  of  the  Post- 
master-General. On  the  3ist  of  March,  1872,  the  system  com- 
prised more  than  five  thousand  offices  (including  nineteen  hundred 

was  £534,000;  of  Renter's  Company,  £266,000;  of  the  United  Kingdom  Electric, 
£350,000,  and  of  the  London  and  Provincial,  £65,000  (Parl.  Deb.  3d  ser.,  cxcv,  coll. 

747-7Si). 
1  Rep.  P.  G.,  1876,  p.  to-Jbid.,  1883,  p.  9.  •  31  and  32  Viet.,  c.  no. 


210   THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

at  railway  stations),  twenty- two  thousand  miles  of  line,  with  an 
aggregate  of  eighty-three  thousand  miles  of  wire,  and  more  than 
six  thousand  instruments.  A  decided  increase  in  the  number  of 
messages  was  the  result.  During  the  first  year  after  the  transfer 
there  were  nearly  ten  millions  of  messages,  the  second  year  twelve 
millions,  and  the  third  year  fifteen  millions,  or  more  than  double 
the  number  transmitted  in  1869.  The  period  from  1872  to  the 
adoption  of  a  sixpenny  tariff  in  1885  was  one  of  steady  progress. 
The  number  of  new  offices  opened  was  not  numerous,  the  increase 
having  been  only  one  thousand,  but  the  improvements  in  existing 
connections  were  marked  and  the  number  of  messages  transmitted 
had  increased  to  thirty- three  millions.  The  new  tariff  rate  was  6d. 
for  twelve  words  or  less,  with  a  halfpenny  for  each  additional  word, 
but  the  old  system  of  free  addresses  was  abolished.  Under  the  old 
tariff  each  figure  was  charged  at  a  single  rate.  Under  the  new 
schedule  five  figures  were  counted  as  one  word.  A  large  proportion 
of  telegrams  were  brought  within  the  minimum  sixpenny  rate, 
while  the  average  charge,  which  had  been  is.  id.  in  1885,  was 
reduced  to  Sd.  in  1886.  The  number  of  messages  increased  from 
thirty- three  millions  in  1884-85  to  fifty  millions  in  1886-87.  Four 
cables  between  France  and  England  and  one  between  France  and 
the  Jersey  Isles  were  purchased  by  the  governments  of  the  two 
countries,  two  by  the  Belgian  and  English  governments,  two  be- 
tween Holland  and  England,  and  one  between  Germany  and  Eng- 
land, by  the  governments  of  the  countries  interested.1 

Following  the  adoption  of  a  uniform  sixpenny  rate  the  depart- 
ment has  granted  other  facilities  to  the  public,  which,  though  pop- 
ular enough,  have  undoubtedly  tended  to  place  the  working  of  the 
telegraphs  upon  a  less  secure  financial  basis.  In  1889,  the  issue  of 
telegraphic  money  orders  was  begun  as  an  experiment,  and  in  the 
same  year  was  extended  to  all  head  and  branch  post  offices  in  the 
United  Kingdom.2  Two  years  later  the  Post  Office  ceased  to  re- 
quire the  repayment  of  the  capital  outlay  on  telegraph  extensions 
made  under  guarantee,  and  the  rural  sanitary  authorities  were 
empowered  to  defray  the  cost  of  such  extensions  in  places  within 

i  Rep.  P.  G.,  1895,  app.,  pp.  33-35;  1889,  p.  13. 
*  Ibid.,  1890,  p.  i. 


THE  TELEGRAPH  SYSTEM  211 

their  districts.1  For  the  six  preceding  years  the  average  annual 
number  of  guaranteed  telegraph  offices  was  seventy-seven,  and  dur- 
ing the  next  five  years  the  average  annual  number  increased  to  167. 
As  part  of  the  Jubilee  concessions  in  1897,  the  guarantors  were 
required  to  pay  only  one  half  of  the  deficiency,  with  the  result  that 
during  the  following  two  years  the  average  annual  number  of 
guaranteed  telegraphic  offices  increased  to  290.  At  the  same  time 
the  free  delivery  limit  was  extended  to  three  miles  and  a  reduction 
was  granted  in  the  porterage  charges  beyond  that  distance.  Fin- 
ally, in  1905,  the  guarantee  was  reduced  to  one  third  of  the  loss 
incurred,  the  delivery  charge  being  fixed  at  3 d.  a  mile  for  the  dis- 
tance beyond  the  three-mile  limit,  instead  of  the  distance  from  the 
office  of  delivery.2 

In  1896,  the  main  routes  from  London  having  become  crowded, 
especially  by  the  telephone  trunk  lines,  the  principle  of  under- 
ground lines  between  the  most  important  centres  was  sanctioned 
by  the  department.  London  and  Birmingham  were  first  connected, 
and  the  line  was  ultimately  extended  through  Stafford  to  Warring- 
ton,  where  it  joined  existing  underground  wires  between  Man- 
chester, Liverpool,  and  Chester.  By  1905,  underground  wires  were 
laid  as  far  north  as  Glasgow  through  Carlisle,  to  be  extended  later 
to  Edinburgh.  At  Manchester  a  junction  was  effected  with  a  line 
passing  through  Bradford  to  Leeds.  During  the  same  year  under- 
ground lines  were  completed  from  London  to  Chatham  and  from 
London  westward  toward  Bristol,  with  the  intention  of  extending  it 
into  Cornwall  in  order  to  secure  communication  with  the  Atlantic 
and  Mediterranean  cables.3 

In  1875,  England  joined  the  other  important  European  powers 
in  a  telegraphic  agreement  which  went  into  effect  in  January  of 
the  following  year.  By  this  agreement  each  of  the  contracting 
parties  agreed  to  devote  special  wires  to  international  service, 
government  telegrams  to  have  precedence  in  transmission  and  to 
be  forwarded  in  code  if  desired.  Private  telegrams  could  also  be 
sent  in  code  between  those  countries  which  allowed  them,  and  the 

1  Rep.  P.  G.,  1892,  p.  20;  54  and  55  Viet.,  c.  46. 

2  Rep.  P.  G.,  1900,  p.  15;  1898,  p.  19;  1906,  pp.  i,  15. 

8  Ibid.,  1900,  p.  15;  1902,  p.  13;  1905,  app.,  p.  99;  1906,  p.  16. 


212   THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

signatory  powers  agreed  to  pass  them  in  transit,  but  each  country 
reserved  to  itself  the  privilege  of  stopping  any  private  telegram. 
For  the  purpose  of  making  charges,  any  country  might  be  divided 
into  not  more  than  two  zones,  and  each  of  the  signatory  powers 
owed  to  the  others  an  account  of  charges  collected.1  So  far  as  for- 
eign telegrams  were  concerned,  the  use  of  manufactured  expres- 
sions in  place  of  real  words  gave  rise  to  considerable  trouble  in 
view  of  the  fact  that  such  combinations  were  difficult  to  transmit. 
In  1879,  the  languages  which  might  be  used  for  code  words  were 
reduced  by  common  consent  to  English,  French,  German,  Italian, 
Spanish,  Portuguese,  Dutch,  and  Latin.  At  the  same  time  the  use 
of  proper  names  as  code  words  was  prohibited.  This  did  not  remove 
the  evil,  as  the  roots  of  words  in  one  language  with  terminations 
in  another  were  used.  An  official  vocabulary  was  compiled  by  the 
International  Telegraph  Bureau,  to  become  obligatory  in  1898, 
but  its  publication  in  1894  aroused  considerable  opposition,  as 
many  of  the  words  were  dangerously  alike,  and  in  1896  the  decision 
of  the  Paris  Conference  of  1890,  by  which  the  official  vocabulary 
was  to  become  compulsory  for  European  telegrams  in  1898,  was 
rescinded.  It  was  also  decided  that  an  enlarged  vocabulary  should 
be  published  by  the  International  Bureau,  but,  owing  to  the  action 
of  the  English  delegates,  the  official  vocabulary  was  not  made 
compulsory  at  the  meeting  of  the  International  Telegraph  Con- 
ference in  1903,  although  artificial  words  were  allowed  if  pronounce- 
able in  accordance  with  the  usages  of  any  one  of  the  eight  languages 
from  which  the  ordinary  code  words  might  be  selected.  It  was  also 
decided  to  admit  letter  cipher  at  the  rate  of  five  letters  to  a  word, 
and  several  countries  agreed  to  lower  their  charges  for  the  trans- 
mission of  extra-European  telegrams,  the  English  delegates  con- 
tending that  the  rates  for  such  telegrams  should  be  made  the  same 
as  the  rates  for  European  telegrams.2  In  1878,  negotiations  with 
the  German  and  Netherland  Telegraph  Administrations  resulted 
in  a  charge  of  4^.  a  word  being  fixed  as  the  rate  between  the  United 
Kingdom  and  Germany  and  3 d.  a  word  between  the  United  King- 
dom and  the  Netherlands. 

1  Ace.  6*  P.,  1876,  Ixxxiv  [c.  1418],  pp.  116-119. 

2  Rep.  P.  G.,  1904,  pp.  15-22. 


THE  TELEGRAPH  SYSTEM 
In  1885,  the  following  reductions  in  rates  were  announced  : — 


To  Russia  from  gd.  to  6  %d.  a  word. 
Spain    6d.  4/4d. 

Italy     $d.  4^d. 

India     45.  'jd.          45. 

to  be  followed  six  years  later  by  still  greater  reductions:  — " 

To  Austria   from  4j4d.  to  $d.  a  word. 

Hungary  4% d.       $d. 

Italy  4%d.       $d. 
Russia 
Portugal 

Sweden  $d.  4d. 

Spain  4/4d.       4d. 

Canary  Isles  is,  7  }4d.  lod. 


the  minimum  charge  for  a  telegram  being  icd.  in  all  cases.  The 
transmission  of  foreign  money  orders  by  telegraph  was  inaugur- 
ated in  1898  by  the  opening  of  an  exchange  with  Germany  and 
its  extension  shortly  afterward  to  the  other  important  European 
countries.1 

In  1892,  an  attempt  was  made,  curiously  suggestive  of  Marconi's 
discovery,  to  transmit  telegraph  messages  without  a  direct  wire. 
The  experiment  was  conducted  between  the  island  of  Flat  Holm 
in  the  Bristol  Channel  and  the  mainland,  a  distance  of  three  miles. 
A  wire  was  erected  on  the  mainland  parallel  with  one  on  the  island, 
and,  by  means  of  strong  vibratory  currents  sent  through  the  former, 
signals  were  transmitted  and  messages  exchanged.  Three  years 
later  and  before  the  practical  value  of  the  Flat  Holm  experiment 
had  been  substantiated,  Mr.  Marconi  arrived  in  England  to  sub- 
mit his  plans  to  the  Post  Office.  A  private  wire  from  Poldhu  to 
Falmouth  was  provided  for  him  on  the  usual  rental  terms,  and  it 
was  announced  that  the  Post  Office  would  act  as  his  agent  for  col- 
lecting messages  to  be  transmitted  by  wireless  telegraphy  when  he 
had  proved  the  feasibility  of  his  project.  At  the  international  con- 

1  Rep.  P.  G.,  1897,  pp.  40-42;  1879,  P-  21 ;  1886,  p.  10;  1892,  p.  19;  1900,  p.  10.} 


214   THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

gress  on  wireless  telegraphy  held  in  Berlin  in  1903  it  was  recom- 
mended that  shore  stations  equipped  with  wireless  apparatus 
should  be  bound  to  exchange  messages  with  ships  at  sea  without 
regard  to  the  system  of  wireless  telegraphy  employed  by  the  latter, 
that  the  rate  of  charge  for  the  shore  station  should  be  subject  to 
the  approval  of  the  state  where  it  was  situated,  the  rate  of  the  ship 
to  the  approval  of  the  state  whose  flag  it  carried,  and  that  the 
working  of  wireless  stations  should  be  regulated  so  as  to  interfere 
with  other  stations  as  little  as  possible.  In  order  to  enable  the 
Government  to  carry  out  the  decision  of  the  congress  and  to  place 
wireless  telegraphy  under  its  control  for  strategic  purposes,  an  act 
was  passed  in  1904  making  it  illegal  to  instal  or  work  wireless  tele- 
graphic apparatus  in  the  United  Kingdom  or  on  board  a  British 
ship  in  territorial  waters  without  the  licence  of  the  Postmaster- 
General.  The  act  was  to  be  operative  for  two  years  only,  but 
before  its  expiration,  was  extended  until  the  3ist  of  December, 
1909,  before  which  it  might  again  be  renewed.  Arrangements 
were  also  made  for  the  collection  and  delivery  of  the  telegrams  of 
the  Marconi  Company  by  the  post  offices  throughout  the  coun- 
try. The  company  charges  its  usual  rate,  6d.  a  word,  and  the  Post 
Office  in  addition  charges  the  ordinary  inland  rate.1  The  interna- 
tional agreement  providing  for  compulsory  communication  between 
shore  stations  and  ships  was  signed  in  1906  in  spite  of  the  protests 
of  the  Marconi  Company,  Sir  Edward  Sassoon,  and  others,  who 
contended  that  the  agreement  was  unfair  to  the  company  and  a 
mistake  on  the  part  of  the  Kingdom, "  which  was  thus  giving  up  ad- 
vantages obtained  by  the  possession  of  the  best  system  of  wireless 
telegraphy  in  the  world."  The  majority  of  the  countries  represented 
were  also  in  favour  of  compulsory  communication  between  ship 
and  ship,  but  this  was  successfully  negatived  by  Great  Britain  and 
Japan.  In  1908,  Mr.  Buxton  was  able  to  announce  in  the  House 
that  the  relations  between  the  Post  Office  and  the  Marconi  Com- 
pany "are  now  of  the  most  friendly  kind,"  and  that  they  have 
accepted  and  adopted  the  principle  of  intercommunication.  In  the 
preceding  year  two  experimental  stations  were  started  by  the 

1  Rep.  P.  G.,  1893,  pp.  19-22;  1903,  pp.  15-18;  1905,  pp.  16-18;  4  Edw.  VII,  c.  24; 
6Edw.  VII,  c.  13. 


THE  TELEGRAPH  SYSTEM  215 

Government  which  will  enable  the  department  to  extend  its  oper- 
ations quite  independently  of  the  companies.1 

From  a  financial  point  of  view,  government  ownership  and  con- 
trol of  the  telegraphs  in  the  United  Kingdom  has  not  been  a  suc- 
cess. In  addition,  the  Telegraph  Department,  for  some  time  previ- 
ous to  1874,  had  been  drawing  upon  the  balance  in  the  possession 
of  the  Post  Office,  a  balance  which  was  required  to  be  invested 
for  other  purposes  and  whose  expenditure  for  the  use  of  the  tele- 
graphs had  not  been  authorized  by  Parliament.  Mr.  Goldsmid, 
in  introducing  a  motion  for  the  appointment  of  a  committee  of 
enquiry,  alluded  to  this  error  on  the  part  of  the  department,  to  the 
excessive  price  paid  for  the  telegraphs,  and  complained  that  the 
telegraph  system  was  not  being  operated  on  a  paying  basis.  His 
motion  was  withdrawn,  but  an  agreement  was  reached  with  the 
department  by  the  appointment  of  a  committee,  with  Mr.  Playfair 
as  chairman,  "to  inquire  into  the  organization  and  financial  sys- 
tem of  the  Telegraph  Department  of  the  Post  Office."  The  com- 
mittee in  their  report  commented  unfavourably  upon  the  unneces- 
sarily large  force,  the  cumbrous  organization,  and  the  far  from 
economical  management  of  some  of  the  divisions  of  the  department, 
advised  that  an  attempt  be  made  to  remedy  these  faults,  and  that 
press  messages  be  charged  a  minimum  rate  of  15.  each,  and  not 
at  the  rate  of  is.  for  each  seventy-five  or  one  hundred  words  ob- 
tained by  adding  together  separate  messages  requiring  separate 
transmission.  This  suggestion  with  reference  to  press  messages  was 
adopted,  promises  were  made  at  the  same  time  to  diminish  the 
force,  and  a  scheme  was  submitted  for  the  reorganization  of  the 
department.2 

The  number  of  telegrams  for  the  year  ending  3ist  March,  1887, 
the  year  following  the  sixpenny  reduction,  was  50,243,639;  for  the 
year  1891-92  it  had  increased  to  69,685,480.  In  1896-97  the  num- 
ber was  79,423,556  and  in  1899-1900  the  total  was  90,415,123. 
During  the  next  three  years  there  was  a  reduction,  followed  in 

1  Parl.  Deb.,  4th  ser.,  clxxix,  coll.  841-858;  cxcii,  col.  1116,  London  Times,  1906, 
Nov.  5,  p.  5;  1907,  July  i,  p.  14. 

2  Parl.  Deb.,  3d  ser.,  ccxxviii,  coll.  172  f.;  Rep.  Com.,  1876,  xiii,  357,  pp.  i-xiii,  147, 
240. 


2l6      THE  HISTORY   OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

1902-03  by  an  increase  to  92,471,000.  Since  1902-03  the  number 
has  again  fallen  off,  the  figures  for  1906-07  being  only  89,493,000.* 
It  is  rather  difficult  to  make  definite  statements  about  the  telegraph 
finances  on  account  of  the  lack  of  uniformity  in  presenting  the  ac- 
counts since  1870.  Under  gross  revenue  is  now  included  the  value 
of  services  done  for  other  departments,  but  this  was  not  always  the 
rule.  The  expenditure  of  other  departments  for  the  telegraph  serv- 
ice may  or  may  not  be  included  under  ordinary  telegraphic  expen- 
diture. Net  revenue  may  also  be  increased  or  a  deficit  changed  to 
a  surplus  by  deducting  the  expenditure  for  sites,  buildings,  and  ex- 
tensions from  ordinary  expenditure.  Finally,  the  interest  on  cap- 
ital is  not  charged  on  the  Telegraph  Vote,  and  so  is  not  included 
under  expenditure.  In  1871,  1880,  and  1881  there  seem  to  have 
been  surpluses  over  all  expenditure,  including  interest  on  capital. 
Excluding  interest  from  expenditure,  the  net  revenue  decreased 
from  £303,457  in  1871  to  £59,732  in  1875,  when  the  pensions  to 
officials  of  the  telegraph  companies  were  first  charged  to  the  Tele- 
graph Vote.  With  an  increased  net  revenue  of  £245,116  in  1876, 
following  the  report  of  the  committee  of  investigation,  the  de- 
partment did  very  well  from  a  financial  point  of  view,  until  1884, 
when  the  net  revenue  fell  to  £51,255,  and  in  1887  there  was  a  deficit 
of  £84,078,  due  to  the  fact  that  expenses  were  increasing  at  a 
greater  rate  than  receipts.  The  sixpenny  reduction  seems  to  have 
made  but  little  change  in  the  financial  situation,  the  gross  revenue 
increasing  from  £1,755,118  in  1884-85  to  £1,855,686  in  1886-87, 
the  expenditure  for  the  same  years  being  £1,731,040  and  £1,939,- 
734.  The  net  revenue  began  to  recover  in  1888-89,  and  averaged 
about  £150,000  a  year  during  the  four  years  ending  March  31, 
1892.  During  the  fiscal  years  1894  and  1895  there  were  deficits, 
then  a  slight  recovery  from  1896  to  1900  and  a  succession  of  de- 
ficits from  1901  to  1905.  The  interest  on  stock,  £214,500  in  1870, 
increased  steadily  to  £326,417  in  1880,  at  which  figure  it  remained 
until  1889,  when  a  reduction  in  the  rate  of  interest  from  3  per  cent 
to  2  ^  per  cent  lowered  the  amount  payable  to  £299,216.  In  1903, 
there  was  a  further  reduction  to  £2 78, 483 .2 

l  Rep.  P.  G.,  1891,  app.,  p.  40;  1901,  app.,  p.  57;  1907,  app.,  p.  61. 

8  Ibid.,  1881,  app.,  p.  S3J 1891,  app.,  p.  66;  1901,  app.,  p.  83;  1905,  app.,  p.  99. 


THE   TELEGRAPH  SYSTEM  217 

The  financial  loss  experienced  by  the  Government  in  operating 
the  telegraphs  has  naturally  produced  considerable  interest  in  this 
phase  of  the  question.  Mr.  Blackwood,  the  Financial  Secretary  of 
the  Post  Office,  in  his  evidence  before  the  committee,  considered 
that  the  financial  control  and  oversight  of  the  department  were  in- 
adequate and  that  the  department  was  over-manned.  On  the  other 
hand,  he  was  of  the  opinion  that  many  expenses  were  met  by  reve- 
nue expenditure  which  should  have  been  charged  to  capital.  Mr. 
Baines,  the  Surveyor- General,  among  other  causes  of  the  finan- 
cial deficiency,  called  attention  to  the  shorter  hours  and  longer 
annual  leave  of  the  telegraph  staff  as  government  employees,  the 
higher  standard  of  efficiency  established  by  the  Post  Office,  and  the 
prevalence  of  much  overtime  work  as  a  result  of  the  maintenance 
by  the  companies,  just  before  the  transfer,  of  an  inadequate  staff.1 
The  fact  that  the  yearly  increase  in  messages  continued  to  diminish 
after  1879  is  commented  on  by  the  Postmaster- General  in  1884  as 
due  to  the  stagnation  of  trade,  the  competition  of  the  telephones, 
and  the  rapidity  of  the  letter  post.  Mr.  Raikes  called  attention  to 
the  large  number  of  telegrams  on  the  business  of  the  railways  which 
were  transmitted  for  nothing.  By  an  agreement  with  several  of  the 
railway  companies  to  send,  as  a  right  instead  of  a  privilege,  a  fixed 
number  of  messages  containing  a  fixed  number  of  words,  this  in- 
crease was  checked.  In  1892,  the  following  comment  is  found  in 
the  Postmaster-General's  Report:  "This  stagnation  of  business, 
viewed  in  connection  with  an  increased  cost  in  working  expenses, 
is  a  matter  for  serious  consideration,  and  necessarily  directs  atten- 
tion to  that  part  of  the  business  which  is  conducted  at  a  loss,"  the 
reference  being  to  the  increased  number  of  press  messages  trans- 
mitted at  a  nominal  charge.  When  in  1868  the  newspaper  pro- 
prietors succeeded  in  obtaining  the  insertion  in  the  Telegraph  Act 
of  special  rates  for  the  transmission  of  press  messages,  no  condition 
was  laid  down  that  copies,  in  order  that  they  might  be  sent  at  the 
very  low  charges  there  enumerated,  should  be  transmitted  to  the 

1  Between  1870,  when  the  telegraphs  were  taken  over  by  the  state,  and  1873, 
the  number  of  employees  was  more  than  doubled,  although,  during  the  same  period, 
the  number  of  messages  —  not  including  news  messages  —  increased  only  from  ten 
to  fifteen  millions  (Rep.  Com.,  1876,  xiii,  357,  pp.  18,  90,  232,  240). 


218   THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

same  place  as  the  original  telegram.  The  newspapers  combined  to 
receive  messages  from  news  associations  in  identical  terms,  and, 
by  dividing  the  cost,  obtained  a  rate  equal  on  the  average  to  4  }4  d. 
per  hundred  words.  Under  the  arrangements  adopted  for  the  trans- 
mission of  news  messages  the  number  of  words  so  sent  did  not 
necessitate  a  corresponding  amount  of  work,  but  it  is  an  interest- 
ing fact  that  in  1895  the  number  of  words  dealt  with  for  the  press 
formed  two  fifths  of  the  total  number.  In  that  year  the  loss  on 
these  telegrams  was  estimated  at  about  £300,000  a  year.  The  high 
price  paid  as  purchase  money  is  another  of  the  factors  to  be  con- 
sidered, only  in  so  far,  however,  as  the  Telegraphic  Department 
has  failed  to  meet  the  interest  on  the  debt  so  incurred.  The  tele- 
graph companies  were  very  liberally  treated,  and  in  certain  cases 
excessive  prices  were  undoubtedly  paid.  Probably  the  most  im- 
portant reason  for  the  financial  failure  of  the  telegraphs  under 
government  ownership  and  control  has  been  the  influence  of  forces 
productive  of  good  in  themselves,  but  quite  different  from  those 
which  had  previously  been  dominant  when  the  telegraphs  were 
under  private  control  and  during  the  early  years  of  government 
management.  The  effect  of  these  forces  is  clearly  seen  in  the 
reduction  of  the  tariff  in  1885,  the  extension  of  facilities  under 
inadequate  guarantee,  and  the  increase  in  the  pay  of  the  staff.1 
Mr.  Buxton  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  worst  feature  of  the  postal 
business  is  the  telegraph  service.  "It  has  never  been  profitable  and 
now  the  telephone  system  has  so  largely  taken  its  place  that  the 
revenue  is  falling  off,"  while  the  "  Economist'7  considers  that  "it  is 
obvious  that  both  in  the  Savings  Bank  and  the  Telegraph  branches 
reforms  are  urgently  needed  in  order  to  place  matters  on  a  sound 
financial  basis."  2 

1  Rep.  P.  G.,  1895,  pp.  37-38. 

The  proportion  of  the  amount  spent  on  salaries  and  wages  which  in  1881 ,  before  Mr. 
Fawcett's  revision,  stood  at  about  55  per  cent,  increased,  as  a  result  of  that  revision 
and  Mr.  Raikes*  revision  in  1890,  to  about  65  per  cent. 

2  Parl.  Deb.,  4th  ser.,  clix,  col.  389;  Economist,  Sept.  21, 1907,  p.  1576. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  POST  OFFICE  AND  THE  TELEPHONE  COMPANIES 

THE  first  telephone  brought  to  England  by  Lord  Kelvin  in  1876 
was  a  very  crude  instrument,  useful  only  for  experimental  pur- 
poses and  of  interest  only  as  a  forecast  of  later  development.  In  the 
following  year  two  Post  Office  officials  introduced  some  machines 
which  had  been  presented  to  them  by  the  American  inventor  Bell, 
and  although  not  very  efficient,  they  were  of  some  commercial  use. 
The  Post  Office  made  arrangements  with  the  agents  of  the  inventor 
for  the  purpose  of  supplying  its  private  wire  renters  with  these  ma- 
chines if  they  should  wish  to  make  use  of  them.  With  the  inven- 
tion of  the  microphone  in  1878,  and  its  application  to  the  telephone, 
a  thoroughly  practical  method  of  transmitting  speech  was  at  last 
introduced.  In  the  same  year  a  company  was  formed  to  acquire 
and  work  the  Bell  patents.  They  endeavoured  to  come  to  an  agree- 
ment with  the  Post  Office  by  which  the  latter  might  obtain  tele- 
phones at  cost  price,  and  would  in  return  facilitate  the  operations 
of  the  company,  but  the  negotiations  came  to  nothing.  There  was 
then  no  suggestion  of  an  exchange  system,  and  the  company  pro- 
posed merely  to  supply  telephones  and  wires  to  private  individuals. 
In  1879,  the  Edison  Telephone  Company  of  London  was  estab- 
lished, an  announcement  having  been  made  in  the  autumn  of  1878 
that  it  was  proposed  to  establish  exchanges.  An  attempt  was  made 
to  amend  the  Telegraph  Act  so  as  to  confer  specifically  upon  the 
department  monopolistic  control  over  telephonic  communication, 
but  the  amendment  failed  to  receive  the  sanction  of  the  House  of 
Commons.  The  Postmaster- General  then  filed  information  against 
both  companies,  on  the  ground  that  the  transmission  of  messages 
by  telephone  was  an  infringement  of  the  telegraphic  monopoly. 
In  the  summer  of  1880  the  two  companies  amalgamated  as  the 
United  Telephone  Company,  and  in  December  judgment  was  given 
by  the  High  Court  of  Justice  in  favour  of  the  Post  Office.1 

1  Rep.  Com.,  1895,  xiii,  350,  pp.  1-6;  Law  Reports,  Queen's  Bench  Division,  vi, 
p.  244;  Parl.  Deb.,  3d  ser.,  cclxxxviii,  col.  1053. 


220      THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

In  April  of  1 88 1  the  Postmaster-General  granted  the  United 
Telephone  Company  a  licence  to  establish  and  operate  a  telephone 
system  within  a  five-mile  radius  in  London,  the  central  point  to  be 
chosen  by  the  company.  On  the  other  hand  the  company  agreed 
to  pay  a  royalty  of  10  per  cent  of  its  gross  receipts  and  to  accept 
the  judgment  of  the  High  Court.  Licences  were  also  granted  to  es- 
tablish telephone  exchanges  in  the  provincial  towns  within  a  radius 
of  one  or  two  miles,  all  the  licences  to  expire  in  1911.  The  Post- 
master-General reserved  the  right  to  establish  exchanges  for  the 
department  and  the  option  of  purchasing  the  works  of  the  licencees 
in  1890  or  at  seven-year  intervals  from  1890,  six  months'  notice 
having  first  been  given.  The  policy  of  the  United  Telephone  Com- 
pany was  to  confine  its  own  operations  to  London  and  to  allow 
patent  apparatus  to  be  used  in  other  parts  of  the  country  by 
subsidiary  companies,  leaving  them  free  to  negotiate  with  the 
Post  Office  for  provincial  licences. 

The  telephone  policy  of  the  Post  Office  from  1880  to  1884  con- 
sisted in  the  granting  of  licences  to  the  companies  in  restricted 
areas,  so  that  the  telegraph  revenue  might  suffer  from  competition 
as  little  as  possible,  and  the  establishment  by  the  department  of 
exchanges  in  certain  places  not  as  a  rule  served  by  the  companies. 
Owing  to  the  refusal  of  the  Government  to  solicit  business,  their 
exchanges  did  not  prove  a  success.  The  department  itself  would 
probably  have  preferred  to  take  over  the  whole  telephone  business 
in  1880,  but  this  policy  met  with  no  favour  from  the  Lords  of  the 
Treasury,  who  were  of  the  opinion  "that  the  state,  as  regards  all 
functions  which  are  not  by  their  nature  exclusively  its  own,  should 
at  most  be  ready  to  supplement,  not  endeavour  to  supersede  private 
enterprise,  and  that  a  rough  but  not  inaccurate  test  of  the  legiti- 
macy of  its  procedure  is  not  to  act  in  anticipation  of  possible  de- 
mands." The  operation  by  the  government  of  the  unimportant 
exchanges  possessed  by  them  was  sanctioned  by  their  Lordships, 
"on  the  understanding  that  its  object  is  by  the  establishment  of  a 
telephonic  system  to  a  limited  extent  by  the  Post  Office  to  enable 
your  department  to  negotiate  with  the  telephone  companies  in  a 
satisfactory  manner  for  licences."  The  London  and  Globe  Company 
was  given  a  licence  in  1882  to  establish  exchanges  in  London,  but 


THE  POST  OFFICE  AND   TELEPHONE  COMPANIES     221 

they  were  entirely  dependent  upon  the  United  Company  for  instru- 
ments, so  that  there  was  no  real  competition.  The  department  pro- 
ceeded to  issue  licences  for  the  establishment  of  competing  systems 
in  places  where  there  were  already  government  exchanges.  From 
1880  to  1884  the  Postmaster- General  granted  twenty- three  li- 
cences, and  some  twenty-seven  towns,  with  1141  subscribers,  were 
served  by  the  department.  The  policy  of  the  Post  Office  during 
these  years,  as  thus  outlined,  was  far  from  satisfactory  to  the 
public,  due  largely  to  the  desire  to  protect  the  telegraph  revenue, 
and  the  failure  to  appreciate  the  possibilities  which  the  new  system 
of  communication  was  capable  of  offering.  The  companies,  re- 
stricted as  they  were  to  local  areas,  could  not  offer  any  means  for 
communication  between  these  areas,  since  special  permission  had 
to  be  obtained  for  the  erection  of  trunk  lines.  The  Government 
offered  to  provide  these  on  condition  that  a  direct  payment  of  £10 
a  mile  per  double  wire  and  one  half  the  revenue  over  that  sum 
should  be  paid  for  their  use,  but  this  offer  the  companies 
naturally  refused  to  consider.  The  Lancashire  and  Cheshire  Com- 
pany proposed  to  fix  their  trunk-line  charges  so  low  as  to  pay 
expenses  only,  but  they  were  informed  by  the  Government  that 
they  must  charge  IDS.  a  mile  annual  rental.  In  addition,  they  were 
not  allowed  to  charge  less  than  is.  at  their  call  offices,  the  then  pre- 
vailing fee  for  a  telegram.  A  few  trunk  lines,  it  is  true,  were  con- 
structed by  the  Government  and  rented  to  the  companies,  but  they 
were  quite  insufficient  to  satisfy  the  demand.  In  London,  the  United 
Telephone  Company  was  not  allowed  to  extend  its  system  beyond 
the  five-mile  radius  without  special  permission  and  the  payment  of 
an  increased  royalty.  In  addition,  the  companies  had  no  way-leave 
powers,  but  had  to  depend  upon  the  good  will  of  householders  to 
fly  their  wires  from  house-top  to  house-top,  with  the  result  that 
in  London  there  was  a  ridiculously  large  number  of  exchanges. 
Finally  the  companies  were  restricted  to  connecting  subscribers 
with  the  exchange  or  their  place  of  business,  and,  although  mes- 
sages could  be  telephoned  for  further  transmission  by  the  tele- 
graphs, there  was  not  that  close  connection  between  the  telephonic 
and  telegraphic  systems  which  might  eventually  have  led  to  the 
mutual  advantage  of  each.  Moreover,  in  1882,  the  Government 


222      THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

announced  that  they  would  grant  no  more  licences  unless  the  sub- 
sidiary companies  agreed  to  sell  to  them  all  the  instruments  they 
wished,  the  intention  probably  being  for  the  Government  to  sup- 
ply instruments  to  companies  which  would  establish  exchanges  in 
real  competition  with  the  United  Telephone  Company.  Since  the 
subsidiary  companies  could  not  supply  these  instruments  without 
the  consent  of  the  parent  company,  the  only  result  was  still  further 
to  restrict  telephonic  development.1 

In  1884,  the  prevailing  public  discontent  in  connection  with  the 
Government's  treatment  of  the  situation  manifested  itself  in  the 
press  and  in  the  House  of  Commons.  The  Post  Office  was  accused 
of  practising  a  policy  of  strangulation  toward  the  companies,  and 
the  Postmaster- General,  Mr.  Fawcett,  acknowledged  that  there 
was  some  truth  in  the  charge.  He  advised  the  Treasury  that  the 
companies'  areas  of  operation  should  be  unlimited,  and  that  their 
operations  should  be  confined  to  the  transmission  of  oral  communi- 
cations. The  restricted  licences  were  withdrawn  and  new,  un- 
restricted licences  granted,  terminable  in  1911  with  the  same  quali- 
fications with  reference  to  royalties  and  government  purchase  that 
were  inserted  in  the  old  licences.  Nominally  the  result  produced 
free  competition,  but  actually  competition  was  impossible  until  the 
expiration  of  the  fundamental  patents  in  1892.  The  year  before 
their  expiration,  the  companies  succeeded  in  getting  control  of  the 
situation  by  an  amalgamation  of  the  United  Telephone  Company 
with  its  licencees  under  the  name  of  the  National  Telephone  Com- 
pany. Mr.  Dickinson,  Deputy  Chairman  of  the  London  County 
Council,  stated  that  the  nominal  capital  of  the  United  Telephone 
Company,  £900,000  (with  an  actual  capital  expenditure  in  1887 
within  the  Metropolitan  District  of  £228,180)  was  taken  over 
by  the  National  Telephone  Company  at  a  cost  of  £1,484,375,  and 
the  Duke  of  Marlborough  said  in  the  House  of  Lords  that  of  the 
£3,250,000  capital  of  the  new  company  over  £2,000,000  was 
"water."  Mr.  Raikes,  the  Postmaster-General,  who  was  in  favour 
of  competition,  wrote  to  the  United  Company,  disapproving  of  the 

1  Rep.  P.  G.,  1883,  p.  6;  1885,  p.  9;  1886,  p.  10;  Rep.  Com.,  1898,  xii,  383,  pp.  3,  57; 
1895,  x"i>  35°>  PP-  1-6;  Parl.  Deb.,  3d  ser.,  cclxxii,  col.  712;  cclxxxviii,  coll.  1056-57, 
1060-61;  cclxxxix,  coll.  82. 


THE  POST  OFFICE  AND   TELEPHONE   COMPANIES     22$ 

whole  transaction.  With  the  expiration  of  the  patent  rights,  the 
New  Telephone  Company  was  resuscitated,  with  the  Duke  of 
Marlborough  as  chairman,  an  agreement  having  been  concluded 
with  the  Telephone  Subscribers'  Protective  Association  for  a 
twelve  guineas'  service  in  London,  but  it  in  turn  was  absorbed  by 
the  National  Company,  much  to  the  disgust  of  the  members  of  the 
Association.  So  far  as  way-leave  rights  were  concerned  the  posi- 
tion of  the  companies  remained  in  a  very  unsatisfactory  condition. 
A  committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  advised  that  certain  way- 
leave  rights  should  be  granted,  but  nothing  was  accomplished, 
although  a  bill  was  introduced  in  the  House  of  Commons  in  1885 
to  enable  the  companies  to  erect  posts  without  the  consent  of  the 
road  authorities.1 

Mr.  Forbes,  the  chairman  of  the  National  Telephone  Company, 
said  to  the  Committee  of  1892:  "I  am  prepared  to  concede  that 
the  telephone  company  which  conducts  about  93  or  94  per  cent 
of  the  whole  telephonic  business  of  the  country  conducts  a  great 
deal  of  it  monstrously  badly,  but  it  is  not  their  fault,  it  is  the  fault 
of  Parliament";  and  again  in  referring  to  the  lack  of  way-leave 
power:  "Take  London  for  instance;  London  is  very  badly  served, 
but  why  is  it  very  badly  served?  Because  everything  depends 
upon  the  caprice  of  the  individual."  As  a  result  of  the  com- 
plaints that  the  telephone  system  was  giving  an  inadequate  serv- 
ice because  of  the  high  rates  on  an  inflated  capital,  because  the 
utility  of  the  telephones  was  impaired  in  that  they  could  not  be 
used  in  connection  with  the  telegraph  and  postal  services,  and  be- 
cause of  the  lack  of  powers  to  erect  poles  in  the  streets  or  to  lay 
underground  wires  or  to  connect  their  exchanges  by  trunk  lines, 
the  Government  announced  a  change  of  policy  in  1892. 2  This 
change  was  set  forth  in  a  Treasury  Minute  of  the  23d  of  May, 
1892,  and  in  two  memoranda  of  agreement  of  the  same  year  to 

1  Rep.  Com.,  1884-85,  xii,  p.  63;  1892,  xvii,  278,  sess.  i,  pp.  3-5;  1895,  xiii,  350,  pp. 
1-6,  92,  188-93;  I898,  xii,  383,  p.  12;  Parl.  Deb.,  3d  ser.,  cclxxxviii,  coll.  1052  f.; 
cccxxxvi,  col.  1809;  cccxxxvii,  col.  1435;  cccxlvi,  col.  908. 

2  Only  five  years  before,  Mr.  Raikes,  the  Postmaster-General,  said  in  the  House  of 
Commons:  "I  am  inclined  to  think  that  it  is  extremely  doubtful  whether  there  would 
be  much  public  advantage  in  establishing  telephonic  communication  generally  be- 
tween those  [the  principal]  towns"  (Parl.  Deb.,  3d  ser.,  cccxix,  col.  664). 


224      THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

which  the  National  and  the  New  Companies  were  respectively 
parties,  the  arrangements  being  sanctioned  by  Parliament  in  the 
Telegraph  acts  of  1892  and  1896.  So  far  as  it  affected  the  National 
Company  the  arrangement  was  embodied  in  detail  in  an  agreement 
dated  the  25th  of  March,  1896,  no  similar  agreement  being  made 
with  the  New  Company  because  that  company  went  into  liquida- 
tion in  1892,  and  in  1896  surrendered  its  licence.  By  the  agreement 
of  1896  the  National  Telephone  Company  surrendered  its  previous 
licence  except  for  certain  definite  districts  called  "Exchange  Areas," 
a  large  number  of  which  were  specified  in  the  agreement.  These 
areas  were  as  a  rule  coterminous  with  the  urban  districts,  but  com- 
prised in  addition  certain  areas  made  up  of  two  or  more  urban  dis- 
tricts together  with  the  intervening  country.  Power  was  reserved 
to  the  Postmaster- General  to  specify  other  exchange  areas,  the 
understanding  being,  both  with  regard  to  areas  already  specified 
and  those  to  be  specified,  that  industrial  areas  of  wide  extent 
should  be  recognized  in  cases  where  there  were  no  considerable 
towns  forming  centres  of  business,  that  neighbouring  towns  intim- 
ately connected  in  their  business  relations  should  be  placed  in  the 
same  area,  and  that  small  towns  and  villages  should  also  be  so 
grouped  when  each  by  itself  would  not  pay.  Outside  these  areas 
the  Postmaster- General  alone  was  entitled  to  carry  on  telephone 
business,  no  more  licences  being  granted  for  the  whole  Kingdom, 
and  for  any  particular  town  only  with  the  approval  of  the  corpor- 
ation or  municipal  authority.  Call  offices  for  the  use  of  the  public 
were  to  be  opened  at  the  company's  exchanges  and  connected 
with  the  post  offices  in  order  that  exchange  subscribers  might  tele- 
phone over  the  trunk  lines  to  exchange  subscribers  in  other  towns. 
Where  intercommunication  took  place  between  the  systems  of  the 
company  and  the  Post  Office,  a  terminal  charge  on  the  part  of  the 
receiving  system  was  allowed.  Telephonic  messages  could  be  sent 
to  the  post  offices  for  transmission  as  telegrams  and  delivery  as  such 
or  for  delivery  as  letters.  Express  messengers  could  also  be  sent  for 
by  telephone,  and  telegrams  received  at  the  post  offices  might  be 
transmitted  by  telephone. 

The  Postmaster- General  was  authorized  to  grant  to  the  company 
all  such  powers  of  executing  works  within  its  exchange  areas 


THE  POST  OFFICE  AND   TELEPHONE  COMPANIES     22$ 

(other  than  works  under,  over,  or  along  any  railway  or  canal)  as 
were  conferred  upon  him  by  the  Telegraph  acts  of  1863, 1878,  and 
Section  2  of  the  act  of  1892.  If  required  by  the  company,  he  must 
provide  underground  wires  between  different  exchanges  in  the 
same  exchange  area,  and  must  allow  the  company  to  conclude 
agreements  with  railway  and  canal  companies  over  whose  property 
he  had  exclusive  right  of  way.  In  exchange  for  these  privileges 
the  company  agreed  to  sell  its  trunk  lines  to  the  Postmaster- 
General,  their  value  being  fixed  at  a  later  date  at  £459,114,  which 
amount  was  paid  to  the  company  on  the  4th  of  April,  1895,  the 
length  of  trunk  line  taken  over  being  2651  miles  having  29,000 
miles  of  wire.  In  order  to  remove  a  serious  handicap  to  the  success 
of  competing  companies,  the  trunk  lines  were  henceforth  to  be  con- 
trolled and  extended  by  the  Post  Office,  the  company  to  receive 
five  per  cent  of  any  gross  charges  for  trunk-line  tolls  which  it  might 
collect  as  an  agent  of  the  Post  Office.  The  rates  charged  by  the 
Post  Office  for  trunk-line  conversations  in  1896  were,  for  distances 
of  125  miles  and  under,  the  same  as  those  previously  charged  by 
the  company,  and  were  lower  than  the  old  rates  for  distances  in 
excess  of  125  miles.1 

In  the  mean  time  there  was  evidence  of  considerable  opposition 
to  the  practical  monopoly  of  the  company  within  the  exchange  areas. 
A  motion  introduced  in  the  House  of  Commons  by  Doctor  Cam- 
eron, member  of  Parliament  for  Glasgow,  in  favour  of  government 
purchase  of  the  telephones,  received  considerable  support,  but  was 
rejected  by  the  Government  on  the  ground  that  the  resulting  in- 
crease in  the  number  of  civil  servants,  not  paid  at  market  wages 
and  constantly  trying  to  bring  pressure  to  bear  on  members,  was 
too  serious  an  evil  to  receive  the  sanction  of  the  Government.2 
The  claim  was  also  made  by  some  of  the  towns  and  by  Glasgow  in 
particular  that  the  municipalities  should  be  allowed  to  install  their 
own  telephone  systems  in  opposition  to  those  of  the  company.  A 
select  committee  was  appointed  to  consider  this  demand  on  the 

1  Rep.  Com.,  1892,  xvii,  278,  sess.  i,  pp.  17-18;  1895,  xiii,  350,  pp.  8, 34;  Rep.  P.  G.t 
1896,  pp.  16, 17;  Rep.  Com.,  1898,  xii,  383,  pp.  35-37,  4°;  i9°5>  vii,  271,  pp.  233-235; 
55  and  56  Vict.,c.  59,  59  and  60  Vict.,c.  40;  Part  Deb.,  4th  ser.,  iii,coll.  168, 186, 196. 
^  Ibid.,  4th  ser.,  iii,  coll.  166  f. 


226  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

question  of  "whether  the  provision  made  for  telephone  service  in 
local  areas  is  adequate,  and  whether  it  is  advisable  to  grant  licences 
to  local  authorities  or  otherwise,"  but,  owing  to  the  dissolution  of 
Parliament,  the  committee  did  not  present  a  report.  Considerable 
evidence  was  heard,  however,  and  the  committee  recommended 
that  another  committee  should  be  appointed  during  the  next  ses- 
sion to  consider  and  report  upon  the  evidence  already  taken  and, 
if  necessary,  take  more  evidence.  The  witnesses  examined  were  as  a 
rule  of  the  opinion  that  the  telephones  should  be  taken  over  by  the 
state ;  but  there  was  a  difference  of  opinion  as  to  whether  municipal 
licences  should  be  granted.  Dissatisfaction  with  existing  conditions 
seemed  to  be  widespread.  The  Glasgow  Corporation  expressed  dis- 
gust with  the  service  of  the  company  on  account  of  the  difficulty 
of  getting  into  communication  with  subscribers,  frequent  inter- 
ruptions and  noises,  and  the  chance  of  being  overheard  by  a  third 
party,  the  first  complaint  being  due  in  their  opinion  to  inadequate 
exchange  accommodations,  the  second  and  third  to  the  one-wire 
system.  The  corporation  was  accused  on  the  other  hand  of  at- 
tempting to  dislocate  the  company's  system  by  refusing  them  per- 
mission to  lay  underground  wires,  while  the  overhead  wires  were 
unfavourably  affected  by  the  electric  tramway  currents.  The  Dep- 
uty Town  Clerk  of  Liverpool  was  in  favour  of  government  tele- 
phones, but  opposed  municipal  licences  on  the  ground  that  they 
would  increase  the  expense  of  telephoning  between  a  municipal 
exchange  and  one  belonging  to  the  company.  The  London  County 
Council  advised  that  severe  restrictions  should  be  laid  upon  the 
company  by  imposing  maximum  rates,  etc.,  or  that  the  state  should 
take  over  the  company's  system  or  that  the  municipality  should 
do  so.  Questions  were  sent  to  subscribers  in  London  by  the  County 
Council,  by  the  company,  and  by  the  Commissioner  of  Sewers,  ask- 
ing for  their  opinion  on  the  service  rendered  by  the  company 
there.  As  may  be  imagined,  the  replies  sent  to  the  County  Council 
and  the  Commissioner  were  on  the  whole  unfavourable  to  the  com- 
pany, while  those  sent  to  the  company  were  generally  favourable 
to  them.  It  was  shown  that  the  number  of  subscribers  in  English 
and  Scotch  cities  was  fewer  than  in  most  continental  cities,  and 
that,  comparing  the  population  of  the  United  Kingdom  with  that 


THE  POST  OFFICE  AND   TELEPHONE  COMPANIES     22J 

of  the  United  States,  the  number  of  subscribers  in  the  former 
should  be  about  145,000  instead  of  about  50,000;  but  nothing  was 
said  of  the  superior  postal  and  telegraphic  facilities  of  the  United 
Kingdom  as  compared  with  the  majority  of  foreign  countries, 
facilities  which  would  naturally  reduce  the  demand  for  a  compar- 
atively new  and  in  many  cases  unpopular  method  of  communic- 
ation.* The  rate  of  the  company  in  the  Metropolitan  area  for  a 
business  connection  was  £20  for  a  yearly  agreement,  with  substan- 
tial reductions  for  second  and  additional  connections,  and  £12 
for  private  houses.  On  a  five  years'  agreement  the  rates  were  £17 
and  £10  respectively.  The  rate  in  Paris  at  the  same  time  was  £16. 
For  the  provincial  cities  in  England,  such  as  Manchester,  Liver- 
pool, etc.,  the  rate  was  £10  for  a  first  connection  and  £8  los. 
for  second  and  additional  connections,  and  for  the  large  towns, 
such  as  Norwich,  Chester,  Exeter,  etc.,  £8  within  half  a  mile  of  the 
exchange,  £9  within  three  quarters  of  a  mile,  £10  within  one  mile, 
and  an  additional  £2  IQS.  for  each  additional  half-mile,  with  re- 
ductions for  extra  connections.  For  small  outlying  and  isolated 
towns  the  half-mile  rate  was  £6  105.,  one  mile  £8,  and  £2  IQS.  for 
every  additional  half-mile.1 

In  1898,  another  committee  was  appointed  with  Mr.  Hanbury 
as  chairman, "  to  enquire  and  report  whether  the  telephone  service 
was  calculated  to  become  of  such  general  benefit  as  to  justify  its 
being  undertaken  by  municipal  and  other  authorities,  regard  being 
had  to  local  finance."  The  committee  were  of  the  opinion  that  the 
existing  telephone  system  was  not  of  general  benefit  either  in  the 
kingdom  at  large  or  in  those  portions  where  exchanges  existed,  that 
it  could  hardly  be  of  benefit  so  long  as  monopolistic  conditions  ex- 
isted, and  that  it  was  capable  of  becoming  much  more  useful  if 
worked  solely  or  mainly  with  a  view  to  the  public  interest.  They 
condemned  the  flat  rate  subscription  charge  of  the  company  as  of 
benefit  only  to  the  wealthier  commercial  classes  in  English  cities. 
They  commented  unfavourably  upon  the  fact  that  in  the  London 
area  there  were  only  237  call  offices  open  to  non-subscribers,  and 
that  as  a  rule  messages  could  not  be  sent  from  them  to  subscribers 

1  Rep.  Com.,  1895,  xiii,  350,  pp.  iii,  25-27,  60-62,  87,  90-91, 163, 176,  221,  223,  275, 
281-82,  321-22;  Park  Deb.,  4th  ser.,  xxxi,  coll.  207  f.;  xlviii,  coll.  463-66. 


228      THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

except  when  the  sender  and  recipient  were  in  the  same  postal  dis- 
trict or  town,  when  the  message  might  be  delivered.  They  were  of 
the  opinion  that  the  telephones  were  far  more  useful  in  other  coun- 
tries where  the  conditions  were  not  so  favourable.  Conditions, 
they  thought,  were  unlikely  to  improve  under  the  present  manage- 
ment. The  company  must  pay  dividends  on  an  inflated  capital; 
its  licence  would  expire  in  1911,  and  the  Government  was  hardly 
likely  to  pay  the  company  at  that  date  for  goodwill.  In  addition, 
there  were  no  restrictions  on  charges,  the  company  had  a  motive 
for  limiting  its  subscribers,  as  expenses  increased  proportionately 
with  an  increase  in  their  number,  and  the  question  of  way-leaves 
was  a  source  of  great  difficulty.  Finally,  they  declared  in  favour 
of  competition  by  the  municipalities  and  the  Post  Office  as  tending 
to  reduce  rates,  extend  the  system,  and,  if  the  Government  should 
eventually  purchase  the  telephones,  give  alternative  systems  to 
choose  from.  The  Government  adopted  the  committee's  report, 
and,  in  a  Treasury  Minute  of  the  8th  of  May,  1899,  laid  down 
the  principles  upon  which  licences  should  be  granted  by  the 
Postmaster- General  to  the  municipalities,  and  announced  that 
in  London  the  Postmaster- General  would  himself  establish  an 
exchange  system.1 

In  accordance  with  the  finding  of  the  committee  and  the  result- 
ing Treasury  Minute,  an  act  was  passed  in  1899,  conferring  upon 
the  boroughs  and  borough  districts  to  which  the  Postmaster- 
General  might  grant  licences  the  right  to  borrow  money  upon  the 
security  of  the  rates  for  the  erection  and  management  of  telephone 
systems.  A  loan  of  £2,000,000  was  authorized  for  the  use  of  the 
department  itself  in  establishing  telephone  competition  with  the 
company  in  London.  The  act  also  denned  the  relations  between 
the  company  and  the  municipalities  (or  other  new  licencees)  in 
the  event  of  competition.  If  the  telephone  company  would  agree 
to  abandon  the  power  of  discriminating  between  subscribers  and 
would  consent  to  limit  their  charges  within  the  maxima  and 
minima  prescribed  by  the  Postmaster-General,  the  latter  was  to 
extend  any  way-leave  rights  already  possessed  for  the  period  of 
the  licence  granted  to  the  competing  municipality  or  new  licencee. 
1  Rep.  Com.,  1898,  xii,  383,  pp.  iii-xiii. 


THE  POST  OFFICE  AND   TELEPHONE  COMPANIES     229 

If  the  new  licence  were  extended  beyond  1911,  the  company's 
licence  would  be  likewise  extended,  but  if  their  licence  were  ex- 
tended for  as  much  as  eight  years  beyond  1911,  the  company 
were  bound,  at  the  request  of  the  licencee  and  under  certain  con- 
ditions, to  grant  interchange  of  communication  within  the  area. 
The  new  licences  would  be  granted  only  to  local  authorities  or 
companies  approved  by  them,  and  the  National  Company  was  pro- 
hibited from  opening  exchanges  in  any  area  in  which  they  had  not, 
before  the  passing  of  the  act,  established  an  effective  exchange. 
The  effect  of  the  act  was  to  limit  competition  to  the  municipalities, 
to  confine  the  National  Company  to  those  towns  and  areas  they 
were  already  serving,  and  to  throw  upon  the  Postmaster-General 
the  duty  of  serving  other  parts  of  the  country.1 

The  form  of  the  licences  for  municipalities,  among  other  condi- 
tions, contained  provisions  designed  to  secure  for  the  public  an 
efficient  and  cheap  service.  It  was  provided  that  the  plant  should 
be  constructed  in  accordance  with  specifications  prepared  by  the 
Postmaster- General,  no  preferential  treatment  should  be  allowed 
to  any  subscriber,  the  charges  made  should  be  within  certain  spe- 
cified limits,  neither  the  licence  nor  any  part  of  the  plant  of  the. 
licencee  should  be  assigned  to  or  amalgamated  with  the  business 
of  any  other  licencee,  and  that  the  licence  might  be  terminated 
if  an  exchange  system  were  not  established  within  two  years.  The 
provisions  of  the  agreement  of  1896  which  secured  cooperation  be- 
tween the  Post  Office  and  the  National  Company  and  combined 
the  telephone  with  the  telegraph  and  postal  services  were  also 
introduced  into  the  municipal  licences.  The  municipalities  were 
bound  to  give  intercommunication  between  their  exchanges  and 
any  established  by  the  Postmaster- General,  and  terminal  charges 
for  trunk-wire  communications  between  the  exchange  subscribers 
of  any  other  system  and  those  of  the  local  authority  were  for- 
bidden. About  sixty  local  authorities  made  enquiries  with  a  view 
to  taking  out  licences,  but  only  thirteen  licences  were  accepted. 
That  of  Tunbridge  Wells  was  surrendered  in  1903,  owing  to  an 
agreement  arrived  at  between  the  National  Telephone  Company 
and  the  corporation,  the  municipal  telephones  not  having  proved 
1  62  and  63  Viet.,  c.  38. 


230   THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

a  success.1  In  the  case  of  seven  others  the  licences  were  surrend- 
ered or  cancelled.  The  following  corporations  held  licences  in 
1905:  — 

Hull  licence  terminating  3ist  December,  1911 
Glasgow  1913 

Swansea  1920 

Brighton  3oth  April,         1926 

Portsmouth  1926 

In  all  the  above  cases  except  Hull,  the  National  Telephone  Com- 
pany had  agreed  to  forego  the  granting  of  special  favours  to  sub- 
scribers, had  established  intercommunication,  and  their  licence  was 
accordingly  extended  in  those  places  to  the  dates  of  termination 
of  the  corporation  licences.  In  Glasgow  the  National  Telephone 
Company  made  several  applications  for  permission  to  lay  under- 
ground wires,  but  the  corporation  refused  the  concession  on  any 
terms.  In  spite  of  this  advantage  and  the  inability  of  the  company 
to  meet  the  low  unlimited  user  rate  of  the  corporation  telephones  on 
account  of  agreements  with  subscribers  in  other  towns,  the  corpor- 
ation found  it  advisable  to  sell  its  plant  to  the  Post  Office  in  1906 
for  £305,000  at  a  capital  loss  of  between  £12,000  and  £15,000. 
Brighton  followed  suit  a  little  later  for  the  sum  of  £49,000,  at 
a  loss  of  £2450.  Swansea  experienced  considerable  difficulty  in 
borrowing  money  to  extend  its  system  on  account  of  the  refusal 
of  the  Local  Government  Board  to  grant  the  necessary  borrowing 
powers.  The  Post  Office  offered  £22,000  for  a  plant  which  had  cost 
£27,173.  This  offer  was  refused  by  the  corporation,  and  an  agree- 
ment was  concluded  with  the  National  Telephone  in  1907  for 
the  sale  of  the  plant  at  a  price  sufficient  to  repay  the  whole  capital. 
Offers  were  also  made  to  Hull  and  Portsmouth  by  the  department, 
but  were  refused,  as  they  were  not  sufficiently  high  to  cover  ex- 
penditure.2 

As  a  rule  the  local  authorities  offered  an  initial  flat  rate  lower 
than  that  paid  by  the  company's  subscribers  in  competing  centres, 

1  Parl.  Deb.,  4th  ser.,  cxxiv,  coll.  781-82;  cxv,  col.  841;  cxvi,  coll.  915-17. 

2  Parl.  Deb.,  4th  ser.,  Ixxxii,  coll.  168-186;  cliv,  coll.  1067-68;  clxiv,  col.  87;  London 
Times,  1906,  July  6,  p.  10;  1907,  Jan.  3,  p.  8;  Feb.  9,  p.  3;  Mar.  22,  p.  4. 


THE  POST  OFFICE  AND   TELEPHONE  COMPANIES 

but  most  of  the  other  rates  of  the  corporation  authorities  were 
somewhat  higher.  The  service  offered  by  the  public  telephones  was 
not  so  satisfactory  as  had  been  hoped,  and  the  more  numerous  con- 
nections open  to  the  company's  subscribers  formed  an  initial  ad- 
vantage which  it  was  difficult  to  overcome.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
corporations  often  had  the  advantage  of  underground  connec- 
tions which  were  denied  to  the  company,  but  the  relatively  small 
number  of  the  subscribers  of  the  corporation  telephones,  the  high 
cost  of  underground  connections,  the  clumsy  service  offered  in  many 
cases,  and  the  ability  of  the  company  to  offer  lower  rates  in  compe- 
titive areas  proved  too  much  for  most  of  the  corporations  which 
were  granted  licences.1 

In  the  meantime  the  National  Telephone  Company  had  been 
experiencing  considerable  difficulty  in  getting  permission  to  lay 
underground  wires  in  London.  In  1892,  the  Telegraph  act  of  that 
year  authorized  the  Postmaster-General  to  grant  to  his  licencees  the 
same  way-leave  powers  which  he  enjoyed,  subject  to  the  conditions 
that  the  licencees  should  not  exercise  such  powers  in  London  with- 
out the  consent  of  the  County  Council,  nor  in  any  urban  district 
outside  London  without  the  consent  of  the  urban  authority,  nor 
elsewhere  without  the  consent  of  the  County  Council.  In  pursuance 
of  this  authority  the  Postmaster- General,  in  the  agreement  of  the 
25th  of  March,  1896,  undertook,  at  the  request  of  the  company, 
to  authorize  them  to  exercise  his  way-leave  powers  in  any  exchange 
area.  The  company  did  not  apply  for  the  exercise  of  such  author- 
ity in  London,  but  an  attempt  was  made  by  them  to  obtain  the 
consent  of  the  London  County  Council  to  allow  their  wires  to  be 
placed  underground,  and  the  work  proceeded  with  the  permission 
of  the  local  road  authorities  in  London.  Negotiations  with  the 
council  were  fruitless,  largely  on  account  of  the  price  asked  for 
way-leave  and  the  demand  for  lower  rates.  The  Postmaster-Gen- 
eral was  advised  that  it  was  his  duty  to  see  that  the  act  of  1892 
was  enforced,  and  the  resulting  correspondence  with  the  company 
having  failed  of  any  satisfactory  result,  an  information  in  the  name 
of  the  Attorney-General  was  filed  against  the  company,  asking  for 
a  declaration  that  they  were  not  entitled  to  proceed  with  their 

1  Rep.  Com.,  1905,  vii,  271,  pp.  10,  76,  79,  233-235. 


232  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

underground  works  in  London  without  the  authority  of  the  Post- 
master-General and  the  consent  of  the  County  Council.  An  order 
to  that  effect  was  made  on  the  24th  of  July,  1900.  This  seemed  a 
favourable  opportunity  for  the  Postmaster- General  to  secure  from 
the  company  certain  concessions  with  reference  to  their  London 
exchange  system  as  well  as  privileges  for  the  subscribers  of  the 
postal  exchanges  which  had  been  established  in  London  and  an 
agreement  with  reference  to  the  purchase  in  1911  by  the  Post 
Office  of  the  company's  London  exchanges.  These  concessions 
and  privileges  were  finally  embodied  in  an  agreement  made  on  the 
i8th  of  November,  1901,  by  which  the  Postmaster- General  agreed 
to  furnish  such  underground  wires  on  the  demand  of  the  company 
as  he  might  think  reasonable  and  likely  to  be  useful  to  the  Post 
Office  later,  as  well  as  underground  wires  connecting  the  exchanges 
of  the  Post  Office  with  those  of  the  company.  When  the  subscribers 
of  the  London  Postal  Exchanges  exceeded  10,000  in  number,  the 
company  agreed  to  pay  half  of  the  rent  of  the  latter  wires.  No 
terminal  charges  were  payable  for  a  message  passing  over  these 
wires,  or  for  a  message  over  the  trunk  lines  between  the  subscribers 
of  the  Post  Office  in  London  and  those  outside  London,  or  be- 
tween subscribers  of  the  company  in  London  and  those  outside 
London.  In  addition,  the  Postmaster- General  promised  to  afford 
to  the  company's  subscribers  in  London  all  such  facilities  with 
reference  to  postal,  telegraphic,  and  telephonic  communications 
as  he  granted  to  Post  Office  London  subscribers  and  upon  the 
same  terms  and  conditions.  He  also  agreed  to  consider  all  appli- 
cations from  the  company  for  way-leaves  on  railways  and  canals 
where  he  enjoyed  such  rights,  and  the  company  promised  to 
establish  telephone  communications  without  favour  or  prefer- 
ence. A  decision  was  also  reached  fixing  equal  rates  for  the  postal 
and  company's  subscribers  in  London,  based  primarily  on  the 
number  of  messages  sent  with  an  unmeasured  rate  lower  than  that 
previously  in  force,  no  revision  to  be  made  without  six  months' 
notice  being  given.  Finally  it  was  agreed  that  in  1911  or  before — 
if  the  company's  licence  should  have  been  previously  revoked — the 
Postmaster-General  should  buy  and  the  company  should  sell  at  its 
fair  market  value  all  such  plant  as  should  then  be  in  use  by  the 


THE  POST  OFFICE  AND  TELEPHONE  COMPANIES     233 

company  in  London  and  be  suitable  for  the  Post  Office  at  that  date. 
None  of  the  plant  was  to  be  considered  suitable  unless  installed 
with  the  written  consent  of  the  Postmaster-General,  the  question 
of  suitability  to  be  decided  by  arbitration  if  necessary.1  The  local 
authorities  protested  in  vain  against  the  agreement,  their  con- 
tention being  that  the  committee  of  investigation  had  advised 
competition,  whereas  the  government  had  on  the  other  hand 
succeeded  only  in  making  very  unsatisfactory  terms  with  the 
company.2 

In  1905,  the  Postmaster- General  and  the  National  Telephone 
Company  concluded  an  agreement  for  the  purchase  of  the  com- 
pany's provincial  plant  based  upon  much  the  same  principles 
which  had  governed  the  London  agreement.  The  question  of  pur- 
chase in  the  provinces  was  complicated  by  the  fact  that  in  some 
towns  there  were  competing  municipal  telephones,  a  resulting  dupli- 
cation of  plant,  and  an  extension  of  the  licence  period  beyond  1911. 
By  the  terms  of  the  agreement,  the  Postmaster- General  on  the 
3ist  of  December,  1911,  shall  buy  and  the  National  Telephone 
Company  shall  sell  (a)  "all  the  plant,  land,  and  buildings  of  the 
company  brought  into  use  with  the  sanction  of  the  Postmaster- 
General  and  in  use  on  the  3ist  of  December,  1911,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  the  telephonic  business  of  the  Company,  (b)  any  licensed 
business  of  the  company  in  towns  where  there  are  municipal  ex- 
changes and  where  the  licence  extends  beyond  1911,  (c)  the  private 
wire  business  of  the  company  (for  which  no  licence  is  required)  in 
use  after  the  3ist  of  December,  1911,  with  buildings,  plant,  etc., 
(d)  all  stores  and  buildings  suitable  for  use  in  accordance  with 
specifications  contained  in  the  agreement,  (e)  all  spare  plant  and 
works  under  construction  if  suitable  for  the  telephonic  business 
of  the  Post  Office."  The  plant,  land,  and  buildings  were  deemed 
to  be  brought  into  use  with  the  sanction  of  the  Postmaster- General 
if  they  were  in  use  or  being  brought  into  use  at  the  date  of  the 
agreement;  in  the  case  of  plant  to  be  installed,  if  constructed  in 
accordance  with  specifications  contained  in  the  agreement  and  of 

1  Ace.  fir  P.,  1902,  Iv,  25,  pp.  4-10;  Rep.  Com.,  1905,  vii,  271,  pp.  1-3,  53-54,  233- 
235;  Parl.  Deb.,  4th  sen,  Ixxxii,  coll.  183;  ci,  coll.  1002-03;  cxxxii,  coll.  422. 
?  Ibid.,  4th  ser.,  ci,  coll.  976-993. 


234      THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

land  and  buildings,  if  acquired  or  constructed  with  the  consent  of 
the  Postmaster- General.  With  reference  to  plant  not  constructed 
in  accordance  with  the  specifications,  and  plant  and  buildings  of 
any  kind  in  competitive  areas,  the  Postmaster-General  reserved 
the  right  to  object  to  buy  such  plant  or  buildings,  the  question  of 
suitability  in  competitive  areas  to  be  settled  by  arbitration.  The 
value  to  be  paid  for  the  company's  undertaking,  not  in  the  com- 
petitive areas  and  not  being  private  wire  business,  shall  be  the 
value  on  the  date  of  purchase  exclusive  of  any  allowance  for  past 
or  future  profits  or  any  consideration  for  compulsory  sale  or  any 
other  consideration.  The  value  in  competitive  areas  is  to  be  de- 
termined by  agreement,  regard  being  had  to  net  profits  and  to  the 
circumstances  and  conditions  under  which  the  company  would 
carry  on  such  business  after  the  date  of  sale.  The  value  of  the  pri- 
vate wire  business  (apart  from  the  plant,  land,  and  buildings  used 
therein)  is  to  be  three  years  purchase  of  the  net  profits  on  the  aver- 
age of  the  three  years  ending  3ist  of  December,  1911.  Any  other 
property  or  assets  of  the  company  may  be  purchased  by  the  Post- 
master-General, the  price  to  be  determined  by  arbitration,  if 
necessary,  and,  after  the  date  of  sale,  the  telegraphic  business  of  the 
company  will  be  carried  on  (whether  by  the  company  or  the  Post- 
master-General) at  the  expense  and  for  the  benefit  of  the  Post- 
master-General. In  the  meantime  the  company  agreed  to  main- 
tain its  plant  in  good  and  efficient  working  order,  not  to  show 
favour  or  preference  among  its  subscribers,  to  accept  minimum 
and  maxiumum  rates,  to  allow  intercommunication  without  ter- 
minal charges  between  their  and  the  Post  Office  subscribers  in  the 
same  area,  and  not  to  collect  terminal  charges  for  messages  sent 
over  the  trunk  lines  between  subscribers  of  the  company  and  those 
of  the  Post  Ofike.  The  Postmaster- General  agreed  to  extend  to 
subscribers  of  the  company  all  such  telegraphic  and  postal  facil- 
ities as  his  own  subscribers  enjoyed,  and  to  undertake  underground 
works  for  the  company  elsewhere  than  in  London  under  the  same 
conditions  as  in  London.  An  agreement  was  also  reached  that  sim- 
ilar rates  should  be  charged  where  the  Postmaster-General  and  the 
company  maintained  competing  systems.  As  a  result,  measured 
rates  were,  as  a  rule,  substituted  for  the  old  flat  rates,  much  to  the 


THE  POST  OFFICE  AND   TELEPHONE  COMPANIES     235 

indignation  of  various  Chambers  of  Commerce  in  the  Kingdom. 
In  the  case  of  complaint  as  to  inefficient  service,  if  the  charge  is 
held  to  be  proved  before  a  person  appointed  by  the  Board  of 
Trade,  and  if  it  is  not  the  result  of  a  refusal  to  grant  way-leaves, 
the  Postmaster- General  may  require  the  company  to  remedy  con- 
ditions in  the  particular  area  concerned  or  may  call  upon  them  to 
sell  the  inefficient  system  to  him.  In  the  first  case  if  there  is  no 
improvement  or  if  the  second  alternative  has  been  adopted,  the 
Postmaster- General  may  require  immediate  sale  under  the  same 
terms  that  would  have  held  if  it  had  not  taken  place  until  the  3ist 
of  December,  191 1.1 

The  income  received  by  the  Post  Office  for  the  fiscal  year 
1906-07  from  the  London  and  provincial  exchanges  and  trunk-line 
business  was  £908,246,  working  expenses,  £456,459,  balance  for 
depreciation,  interest,  etc.,  £451,787,  leaving  a  balance  of  £19,061 
over  and  above  an  estimated  amount  of  £432,726  for  depreciation 
and  interest  at  three  per  cent  on  the  capital  expenditure.  The 
London  exchange,  with  a  gross  income  of  £330,512,  showed  a  sur- 
plus of  £25,586  over  and  above  depreciation  fund  and  interest  on 
capital  expenditure,  the  provincial  exchanges  a  deficit  of  £15,758, 
and  the  trunk  lines  a  surplus  of  £9333.  The  number  of  subscribers 
to  the  Post  Office  provincial  exchanges  (excluding  Glasgow  and 
Brighton)  was  10,010.  Including  the  Glasgow  subscribers  (11,103) 
and  the  Brighton  subscribers  (1542),  the  total  was  22,655.  Ar- 
rangements were  then  being  made  for  local  intercommunication 
between  subscribers  of  these  exchanges  and  those  of  the  company 
in  the  same  places.  Hull  and  Portsmouth  were  the  only  towns 
maintaining  municipal  telephonic  systems  in  1907,  Hull  having 
2128  telephones  in  use  and  Portsmouth  2553.  The  number  of  tele- 
phones in  the  London  Post  Office  telephone  service  was  41,236, 
including  425  public  call  offices.  The  agreement  of  1905,  providing 
for  similar  rates  in  the  provinces  between  exchanges  of  the  Post 
Office  and  those  of  the  company,  was  followed  after  considerable 
discussion  by  the  announcement  of  the  adoption  of  a  new  scale 
in  May,  1906.  The  rates  are  now  based  on  the  principle  of  a  meas- 
ured service  under  which  each  subscriber  pays  according  to  the 
1  Ace.  &•  P.,  1905,  xliv,  16,  pp.  3-23;  Rep.  Com.,  1905,  vii,  271,  pp.  iii-xi. 


236   THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

quality  and  quantity  of  the  service  desired.  He  may  contract  for 
any  number  of  calls  from  four  hundred  upward,  and  he  may  share 
a  line  with  another  subscriber  at  a  reduced  rate,  or  he  may  rent 
a  line  for  his  own  exclusive  use.1 

1  Rep.  P.  G.,  1905,  app.,  pp.  90-92;  1907,  pp.  21-23,  93- 


CHAPTER  XII 

CONCLUSION 

THE  important  points  in  the  history  of  the  British  Post  Office 
are  necessarily  somewhat  obscured  by  the  great  mass  of  less  im- 
portant characteristics  which  accompanied  its  development.  Or- 
ganized at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century  as  a  means  for 
the  conveyance  of  state  letters,  its  messengers,  by  tacit  consent,  were 
allowed  to  carry  the  letters  of  private  individuals.  The  advantage 
so  afforded  for  the  control  of  seditious  correspondence  led  to  the 
monopolistic  proclamations  of  the  closing  years  of  the  sixteenth 
and  the  opening  years  of  the  seventeenth  century.  Before  1635  the 
state  obtained  no  direct  revenue  for  the  conveyance  of  private 
letters.  The  messengers  or  postmen  who  were  supposed  to  be  paid 
by  the  state,  derived  the  larger  part  of  their  income  from  the  post- 
age on  these  letters  and  from  letting  horses  to  travellers. 

The  object  in  retaining  for  the  Royal  Posts  the  sole  right  to 
carry  the  letters  of  private  individuals  assumed  a  new  form  in  the 
seventeenth  century.  Witherings  showed  that  by  diverting  the 
postage  on  private  letters  from  the  postmen  to  the  state  the  Post 
Office  might  be  made  self-supporting.  Legal  rates  were  imposed, 
letters  were  carried  at  a  much  higher  speed,  and  the  system  of 
packet  posts  was  extended  over  the  great  roads  of  England.  The 
supervision  of  private  correspondence  became  a  matter  of  only 
secondary  importance.  The  struggle  between  the  King  and  Par- 
liament resulted  in  securing  popular  control  over  the  posts  of  the 
kingdom.  At  the  same  time,  during  the  political  unrest,  competing 
systems  of  posts  were  repressed  with  difficulty.  The  inability  of 
government  officials  to  meet  the  increasing  needs  of  a  growing 
metropolis  led  to  the  establishment  of  a  Penny  Post  in  London 
by  Dockwra,  a  private  individual. 

The  first  part  of  the  eighteenth  century  saw  the  extension  of  a 
postal  system  in  the  colonies  and  an  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  Post 


238       THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BRITISH  POST  OFFICE 

Office  to  obtain  the  postage  on  letters  passing  over  the  cross-roads 
of  England.  The  increase  in  England's  colonial  possessions  and 
her  growing  trade  with  foreign  countries  produced  a  corresponding 
growth  in  the  packet  service.  The  last  part  of  the  century  saw  the 
establishment  of  Palmer's  mail  coaches  in  order  to  meet  competi- 
tion from  the  post  coaches.  The  great  increase  in  revenue  which 
accompanied  the  industrial  revolution  led  to  corruption  among 
the  postal  officials,  resulting  in  the  reform  of  1793.  The  period 
of  rapid  growth  had  passed,  and  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century 
was  a  period  of  consolidation  for  the  new  offices  which  had  been 
created,  and  better  cooperation  in  the  work  which  they  performed. 

The  first  forty  years  of  the  last  century  saw  the  Post  Office  at 
its  best  as  an  instrument  of  taxation.  But  this  very  fact  drew 
attention  to  the  lack  of  other  and  more  important  objects.  Rates 
had  been  forced  so  high  that  people  resorted  to  legal  and  illegal 
means  to  evade  paying  them.  The  feeling  was  growing  that  a  tax 
upon  correspondence  was  not  only  a  poor  method  of  raising  money 
but  that  its  ulterior  effect  in  restricting  letter  writing  was  produc- 
ing undesirable  results  upon  the  people  of  England  industrially 
and  socially.  A  great  mistake  had  been  made  by  the  Post  Of- 
fice in  acquiring  steam  packets.  They  suffered  severely  from 
private  competing  lines  and  were  'always  a  loss  to  the  Govern- 
ment. A  partial  remedy  was  attained  by  the  transfer  of  all  the 
packets  to  the  Admiralty.  Eventually  the  popular  cause,  cham- 
pioned by  Hill  and  Wallace,  forced  itself  upon  the  attention  of  the 
Government.  A  Parliamentary  committee,  after  listening  to  the 
evidence  of  representative  witnesses,  declared  itself  in  favour  of 
low  and  uniform  rates  of  postage  for  the  United  Kingdom,  the  re- 
sult being  the  adoption  of  inland  Penny  Postage  in  1840. 

Among  the  numerous  changes  which  have  characterized  the 
development  of  the  Post  Office  since  1840  are  the  successive  re- 
ductions in  rates;  the  transfer  of  the  packet  boats  from  the  Admir- 
alty, followed  by  the  resolution  of  the  Government  to  revert  to 
the  old  principle  of  depending  upon  private  enterprise  for  the  sea 
carriage  of  the  mails;  the  extension  in  the  use  of  the  railways  as  a 
medium  of  conveyance;  the  establishment  of  a  parcel  post;  and 
the  decision  of  the  government  to  provide  banking  and  assurance 


CONCLUSION  239 

facilities  for  the  thrifty  person  of  small  means.  But  the  greatest 
departure  in  the  field  of  the  department's  activities  has  been  the 
acquisition  of  the  telegraphic  system  of  the  Kingdom.  Misled  by 
their  advisers  as  to  the  capital  cost  and  induced  by  popular  pres- 
sure to  abandon  strictly  business  methods  of  administration  and 
extension,  the  telegraphic  experiments  of  the  department  have 
not  been  a  financial  success.  Not  only  has  this  been  the  case,  but, 
in  their  efforts  to  protect  the  revenue,  successive  Governments 
have  hindered  the  development  of  telephonic  communication. 
At  this  late  date  we  can  safely  assume  that  in  1870  the  depart- 
ment should  either  have  granted  the  telephone  companies  far 
greater  powers  or  should  themselves  have  assumed  the  burden  of 
providing  an  adequate  system  of  telephonic  communication.  In 
1911,  the  property  and  franchises  of  the  telephone  companies  will 
pass  to  the  control  of  the  Government,  thus  vastly  increasing  the 
work  of  the  department  if,  as  seems  probable,  the  Government 
should  assume  direct  management,  and  greatly  enlarging  the 
number  of  dissatisfied  members  of  that  part  of  the  civil  service  un- 
der the  control  of  the  Post  Ofiice. 


APPENDIX 
EXPENDITURE  AND  REVENUE  TABLES 


APPENDIX 


TABLE  I 


GROSS  PRODUCT,  EXPENDITURE,  AND  NET  PRODUCT  OF  THE  POST  OFFICE 

OF  THE  UNITED  KINGDOM  FROM  MARCH  2$,  1723  TO  APRIL  5,  1797 

Year  ending 

Gross  Product 

Expenses 

Net  Product 

£ 

£ 

£ 

March  25,  1724 

178,071 

8l,732 

96,339 

25 

175,274 

75,407 

99,867 

26 

178,065 

83,253 

94,812 

27 

182,184 

81,295 

100,889 

28 

183,9*5 

79,250 

104,665 

29 

179,189 

86,882 

92,307 

30 

178,817 

84,027 

94,790 

3i 

171,412 

79,243 

92,169 

32 

176,714 

84,678 

92,036 

33 

171,283 

79,137 

92,146 

34 

176,334 

84,633 

91,701 

35 

182,171 

83,541 

98,630 

36 

188,210 

90,589 

97,621 

37 

182,490 

85,402 

97,088 

38 

186,578 

93,914 

92,664 

39 

i83,747 

85,497 

97,250 

40 

194,197 

103,532 

90,665 

4i 

191,408 

101,323 

90,085 

42 

197,721 

110,137 

87,584 

43 

190,626 

102,185 

88,441 

44 

194,461 

109,347 

85,H4 

45 

194,607 

108,852 

85,755 

46 

201,460 

120,570 

80,890 

47 

209,028 

123,086 

85,942 

48 

217,453 

138,701 

78,752 

49 

212,801 

124,478 

88,323 

50 

207,490 

110,093 

97,397 

5i 

203,748 

104,633 

99,n5 

52 

207,092 

109,371 

97,72i 

April  5,           53 

206,666 

108,518 

98,148 

54 

214,300 

Il6,935 

97,365 

55 

210,663 

108,648 

102,015 

56 

238,445 

144,203 

94,242 

57 

242,478 

162,629 

79,849 

244 


APPENDIX 
TABLE  I— continued 


Year  ending 


Gross  Product 

Expenses 

Net  Product 

£ 

£ 

£ 

222,075 

148,346 

73,729 

229,879 

143,784 

86,095 

230,146 

146,643 

83,493 

240,497 

153,808 

86,689 

233,722 

155,927 

77,795 

238,999 

141,166 

97,833 

225,326 

109,134 

116,182 

262,496 

104,925 

157,571 

265,427 

103,484 

161,943 

275,230 

113,286 

161,944 

278,253 

112,470 

165,783 

284,914 

120,154 

164,760 

285,050 

128,988 

156,062 

292,782 

137,239 

155,543 

309,997 

144,394 

165,503 

310,126 

142,940 

167,176 

313,032 

148,965 

164,077 

321,943 

148,755 

173,188 

318,418 

150,936 

167,482 

329,921 

171,346 

158,575 

347,128 

209,124 

137,994 

372,817 

233,569 

139,248 

387,092 

250,683 

136,409 

417,634 

263,477 

154,157 

393,235 

275,910 

H7,325 

398,624 

238,999 

159,625 

420,101 

223,588 

196,513 

463,753 

202,344 

261,409 

471,176 

185,201 

285,975 

474,347 

195,748 

278,599 

509,131 

212,151 

296,980 

514,533 

195,928 

318,610 

533,198 

202,019 

33i,i79 

575,079 

219,080 

355,999 

585,432 

218,473 

366,959 

627,592 

236,084 

39i,5o8 

691,268 

260,606 

430,662 

705,319 

295,822 

409,497 

657,541 

191,084 

466,457 

691,616 

178,266 

513,350' 

April  5,  1758 

59 
60 
61 
62 

63 
64 

65 
66 
67 
68 
69 
70 

7i 

72 

73 

74 

75 

76 

77' 

78 

79 
80 
81 
82 
83 
84 
85 
86 

87 
88 

89 
90 

Qi 
92 
93 
94 
95 
96 

97 
1  Parl.  Papers,  1812-13,  Reports  from  Committees,  ii,  pp.  60-61. 


APPENDIX 


245 


TABLE  H 

AVERAGE  YEARLY  GROSS  PRODUCT,  EXPENDITURE  AND  NET  PRODUCT  OP 
THE  POST  OFFICE  OF  THE  UNITED  KINGDOM  FROM  1725  TO  1794 


1725-29 
1730-34 

1735-39 
1740-44 

1745-49 
1750-54 

1755-59 
1760-64 
1765-69 
1770-74 

1775-79 

1780-84 

1785-89 
1790-94 


Gross  Product 
£ 


174,912 
184,639 
193,682 
207,069 
207,859 
228,708 
233,738 
273,264 
302,197 
338,045 
403,337 
486,587 
602,514 


Expenses 

£ 

81,217 

82,344 

87,989 

105,304 

123,137 

109,910 

147,522 

141,340 

110,864 

140,525 
182,766 

251,331 
198,273 

227,033 


Net  Product 

£ 

98,508 
92,568 
96,650 
88,378 
83,932 

97,949 

81,186 

92,398 

162,400 

161,672 

155,279 
152,006 

288,314 
375.481 


246 


APPENDIX 


TABLE  III 

GROSS  PRODUCT,  EXPENDITURE,  AND  NET  PRODUCT  OF  THE  POST  OFFICE 
OF  THE  UNITED  KINGDOM,  INCLUDING  THE  TWOPENNY  POST,  FROM 
JANUARY  5,  1804  TO  JANUARY  5,  1838 


Loss  on 

Year  ending 

Gross  Product 

Expenses 

Net  Product 

Returned 

£ 

£ 

£ 

Letters* 

Jan.  5,  1804 

1,429,429 

416,767 

956,212 

56,450 

5 

1,466,271 

420,395 

983,363 

62,513 

6 

1,648,523 

457,686 

1,119,429 

71,408 

7 

1,718,187 

456,968 

1,185,659 

75,560 

8 

1,711,980 

468,531 

1,167,425 

76,024 

9 

1,739,855 

489,469 

1,173,062 

77,324 

10 

1,855,746 

519,359 

I,26o,822 

75,565 

ii 

1,987,404 

546,460 

1,365,251 

75,693 

12 

1,960,510 

540,397 

1,344,109 

76,004 

13 

2,078,879 

576,885 

1,422,001 

79,993 

14 

2,209,213 

616,564 

1,506,064 

86,585 

IS 

2,372,429 

675,548 

1,598,295 

98,586 

16 

2,418,741 

704,639 

1,619,196 

94,906 

17 

2,280,209 

649,129 

1,537,505 

93,575 

18 

2,186,621 

665,354 

1,433,871 

87,396 

19 

2,240,553 

683,680 

1,467,533 

89,340 

20 

2,191,562 

586,193 

1,522,640 

82,729 

21 

2,172,875 

611,187 

1,465,605 

96,083 

22 

2,122,965 

645,241 

1,393,465 

84,259 

23 

2,128,926 

620,977 

1,428,352 

79,597 

24 

2,154,294 

596,336 

1,475,167 

82,791 

*5 

2,255,238 

628,829 

1,540,022 

86,387 

26 

2,367,567 

636,353 

1,632,267 

98,947 

27 

2,392,271 

706,640 

1,589,672 

95,869 

28 

2,278,411 

706,192 

1,484,164 

88,095 

2Q 

2,287,961 

663,775 

1,544,224 

79,962 

30 

2,265,481 

675,319 

1,509,347 

80,815 

31 

2,301,431 

694,254 

1,517,951 

89,226 

32 

2,321,310 

658,325 

1,569,038 

93,947 

33 

2,277,274 

643,464 

1,531,828 

101,982 

34 

2,294,910 

636,756 

1,553,425 

104,729 

35 

2,319,979 

696,387 

1,513,052 

110,540 

36 

2,353,340 

678,836 

1,564,458 

110,046 

37 

2,461,806 

704,768 

1,645,835 

111,203 

38 

2,462,269 

698,632 

1,641,106 

122,531 

i  Reports  from  Com.,  1837-38,  xx,  pt.  i,  p.  509.  Before  1797,  the  loss  on  returned  letters  seems  to 
have  been  included  in  the  Charges  of  Management. 


APPENDIX 


247 


TABLE  IV 


AVERAGE  YEARLY  GROSS  PRODUCT, 
ETC.,  OF  THE  POST  OFFICE  OF 
TO  1838 


EXPENDITURE,  AND  NET  PRODUCT, 
THE  UNITED  KINGDOM  FROM    1805 


Gross  Product 

Expenses 

Net  Product 

Loss  on  Returned 

Actual  Gross 

Letters 

Product 

£ 

£ 

£ 

£ 

£ 

1805-09 

1,656,963 

458,610 

1,125,787 

72,566 

1,584,397 

1810-14 

2,018,350 

559,933 

1,379,649 

78,768 

1,939,582 

1815-19 

2,299,710 

675,670 

1,531,280 

92,760 

2,206,950 

1820-24 

2,154,124 

611,987 

1,457,045 

85,092 

2,069,032 

1825-29 

2,316,289 

668,358 

1,558,079 

89,852 

2,226,437 

1830-34 

2,292,081 

661,623 

1,536,318 

94,140 

2,197,941 

1835-38 

2,399,348 

694,656 

1,591,112 

113,580 

2,285,768 

SCOTLAND 

Gross  Product 

Expenses 

Net  Product 

£ 

£ 

£ 

1800-04 

117,108 

18,952 

98,156 

1805-09 

148,816 

23,98l 

124,835 

1810-14 

182,259 

29,153 

153,106 

1815-19 

191,812 

40,736 

151,076 

1820-24 

185,235 

46,351 

138,884 

1825-29 

205,599 

49,485 

156,114 

1830-34 

204,481 

54,729 

149,752 

1835-37 

216,191 

59,553 

156,638 

IRELAND 

£ 

£ 

£ 

1800-04 

92,745 

64,368 

28,377 

1805-09 

150,845 

90,922 

59,923 

1810-14 

192,969 

115,019 

77,950 

1815-19 

210,159 

124,149 

86,010 

1820-24 

190,431 

119,200 

71,231 

1825-29 

214,165 

"5,875 

98,290 

1830-34 

244,098 

108,898 

135,200 

1835-37 

247,068 

114,093 

132,975 

248 


APPENDIX 


TABLE  V 


GROSS  PRODUCT,  EXPENDITURE,  AND  NET  PRODUCT  OF  THE  POST  OFFICE 
FOR  SCOTLAND  AND   IRELAND   FROM    l8oO    TO    1837 


Scotland 

Ireland 

Year  ending 

Gross  Product 

Expenses 

Net  Product 

Gross  Product 

Expenses 

Net  Product 

Jan.  5 

£ 

£ 

£ 

£ 

£ 

£ 

1800 

100,651 

16,896 

83,755 

84,040 

59,216 

24,824 

OI 

113,126 

18,020 

95,105 

2  66,030 

48,656 

17,376 

02 

121,700 

18,692 

103,007 

102,293 

70,489 

3I,8o6 

03 

124,809 

20,581 

104,228 

102,518 

66,008 

36,510 

04 

125,257 

20,562 

104,694 

108,844 

77,471 

31,373 

05 

137,479 

21,175 

116,303 

118,429 

79,448 

38,981 

06 

146,148 

22,465 

123,682 

146,682 

93,651 

53,031 

07 

151,696 

23,358 

128,338 

149,857 

90,940 

58,917 

08 

152,453 

27,496 

124,956 

158,749 

91,200 

67,549 

09 

I56,30S 

25,412 

130,892 

180,510 

99,371 

8i,l39 

IO 

168,098 

26,543 

141,555 

180,670 

110,064 

70,606 

II 

169,082 

24,853 

144,229 

195,531 

117,639 

77,892 

12 

178,896 

26,260 

152,636 

189,963 

118,344 

71,619 

13 

191,857 

26,248 

165,609 

195,458 

112,938 

82,520 

14 

203,366 

'41,814 

161,551 

203,226 

116,113 

87,"3 

15 

201,992 

40,950 

161,042 

212,562 

121,371 

91,191 

16 

193,727 

40,570 

153,157 

225,000 

132,331 

92,669 

17 

185,417 

41,181 

144,236 

212,269 

126,476 

85,793 

18 

189,690 

39,756 

149,934 

203,456 

123,186 

80,270 

19 

188,236 

41,225 

147,011 

197,510 

H7,384 

80,126 

20 

184,512 

43,106 

141,405 

197,677 

123,060 

74,617 

21 

179,403 

47,078 

132,324 

192,511 

127,494 

65,017 

22 

184,014 

47,302 

136,711 

187,120 

118,932 

68,188 

23 

184,164 

47,515 

136,649 

186,024 

112,778 

73,246 

24 

194,085 

46,755 

147,330 

188,826 

"3,739 

75,087 

25 

205,988 

49,066 

156,921 

199,602 

118,698 

80,904 

26 

214,271 

50,H3 

164,158 

207,177 

"3,539 

93,638 

27 

203,137 

49,378 

153,759 

207,757 

H7,564 

90,193 

28 

203,305 

51,393 

I5I,9H 

216,232 

116,836 

99,396 

29 

201,298 

47,476 

153,822 

239,559 

112,740 

126,819 

30 

202,754 

50,999 

151,754 

241,063 

"1,955 

129,108 

31 

204,593 

55,434 

149,159 

247,711 

117,622 

130,089 

32 

206,594 

54,6oi 

151,992 

256,976 

102,654 

154,322 

33 

203,324 

54,875 

148,448 

242,671 

107,127 

135,544 

34 

205,144 

57,738 

147,406 

232,071 

105,145 

126,926 

35 

209,069 

59,3o6 

149,762 

240,471 

109,973 

130,498 

36 

218,748 

59,408 

159,339 

245,664 

112,045 

123,619 

37 

220,758 

59,945 

160,813 

255,070 

120,261 

134,809 

1  First  payment  of  tolls  amounting  from  £16,000  to  £20,000  a  year,  ad  Rep.,  app.  no.  39,  Rep. 
Com.,  1837-38,  xx. 
*  Three  quarters  only,    ist  Rep.,  app.  no.  28. 


APPENDIX 


249 


TABLE  VI 


GROSS  REVENUE,  EXPENDITURE,  AND  NET  REVENUE  OF  THE  POST  OFFICE 
OF  THE  UNITED  KINGDOM,  NOT  INCLUDING  TELEGRAPHS,  FROM  1838 
TO  1907 


Jan.  5, 


Dec.  3i; 


ending 

Gross  Revenue 

Expenditure 

Net  Revenue 

£ 

£ 

£ 

1838 

2,339,737 

687,313 

1,652,424 

1839 

2,346,278 

686,768 

1,659,509 

1840 

2,39^763 

756,999 

1,633,764 

1841 

1,359,466 

858,677 

500,789 

1842 

I,499,4i8 

938,168 

561,249 

1843 

1,578,145 

977,504 

600,641 

1844 

1,620,867 

980,650 

640,217 

1845 

i,705,067 

985,110 

719,957 

1846 

1,887,576 

'1,125,594 

761,982 

1847 

1,963,857 

1,138,745 

825,112 

1848 

2,181,016 

1,196,520 

984,496 

1849 

2,143,679 

1,403,250 

740,429 

1850 

2,165,349 

1,324,562 

840,789 

1851 

2,264,684 

1,460,785 

803,898 

1852 

2,422,168 

1,304,163 

,118,004 

1853 

2,434,326 

1,343,907 

,090,419 

1854 

2,574,407 

1,400,679 

,173,727 

1854 

2,701,862 

1,506,556 

,195,306 

1855 

2,716,420 

1,651,364 

,065,056 

1856 

2,867,954 

1,660,229 

,207,725 

I8571 

3,035,713 

1,720,815 

,314,898 

i8582 

3,241,535 

1,953,283 

1,288,252 

1859 

3,461,924 

1,952,432 

1,509,492 

1860 

3,53i,i65 

1,953,234 

1,577,931 

1861 

3,665,128 

3,154,527 

510,601 

1862 

3,764,004 

2,926,551 

837,453 

1863 

3,999,455 

2,956,486 

1,042,969 

1864 

4,231,558 

3,078,297 

1,153,261 

1865 

4,423,608 

2,941,086 

1,482,522 

1866 

4,599,667 

3,201,681 

1,397,986 

1867 

4,668,214 

3,246,850 

1,421,364 

i8683 

4,683,646 

3,266,724 

1,416,922 

1  ist  Rep.  P.  G.,  1855,  p.  68. 

aoth  Rep.  P.  G.,  1874,  app.,  p.  46. 

2  Expenditure  for  sailing  packets  in  1858  was  £935,883. 

8  Postage  ceased  to  be  charged  on  government  departments  early  in  1868. 


250 


Mar.  21, 


APPENDIX 
TABLE  VI—  continued 


ir  ending 

Gross  Revenue 

Expenditure 

Net  Revenue 

£ 

£ 

£ 

1869 

4,764,575 

3459,227 

1,305,348 

I8701 

4,929,475 

3435,865 

1,493,610 

1871 

4,900,454 

3,610,700 

1,289,754 

1872 

5,208,922 

3,684,946 

1,523,976 

1873 

5,348,040 

3,792,679 

i,555,36i 

1874 

5,751,600 

3,915,213 

1,836,387 

i875 

5,815,032 

3,920,891 

1,894,141 

1876-772 

6,017,072 

4,070,006 

1,947,066 

1877-78 

6,047,312 

3,990,620 

2,056,692 

1878-79 

6,274,450 

3,840,076 

2,434,374 

1879-80 

6,558,445 

4,060,758 

2,497,687 

i88o-8i3 

6,733,427 

4,135,659 

2,597,768 

1881-82 

7,027,600 

4,286,596 

2,741,004 

1882-83 

7,300,960 

4,545,398 

2,755,562 

1883-84 

7,764,855 

5,154,829 

2,610,026 

1884-85 

7,906,406 

5,317,213 

2,589,193 

1885-86 

8,170,604 

5,486,724 

2,683,880 

1886-87 

8,471,198 

5,880,141 

2,591,057 

1887-88 

8,705,337 

5,933,820 

2,771,517 

1888-89 

9,102,776 

6,062,902 

3,039,874 

1889-90 

9,474,774 

6,266,263 

3,208,511 

i  890-9  i4 

9,851,078 

6,687,089 

3^63,989 

1891-92 

10,45  1,  9985 

7,192,487 

3,259,511 

1892-93 

10,600,149 

7,507,645 

3,092,504 

1893-94 

10,734,885 

7,759,712 

2,975,173 

1894-95 

11,025,460 

7,955,344 

3,070,116 

1895-96 

",759,945 

8,086,272 

3,673,673 

1896-97 

12,146,935 

8,246,356 

3,900,579 

1897-98 

12,420,376 

8,683,317 

3,737,059 

1898-99 

13,049,317 

9,190,006 

3,859,311 

1899-1900 

13,394,335 

9,683,999 

3,710,336 

1900-01  6 

13,995,470 

10,064,903 

3,930,567 

1  loth  Rep.  P.  G.,  1864,  pp.  32-38;   i8th  Rep.  P.  G.,  1872,  pp.  26-27. 

Until  1858  revenue  does  not  include  revenue  from  impressed  newspaper  stamps 
nor  does  expenditure  include  cost  of  packet  service  until  1861. 

2  In  1876  the  beginning  of  the  financial  year  of  the  Post  Office  was  changed  from 
ist  January  to  ist  April. 

8  27th  Rep.  P.  G.,  1881,  app.,  p.  52. 

4  37th  Rep.  P.  G.,  1891,  app.,  p.  64. 

6  Including  estimated  value  of  services  to  other  departments  from  1891-92  on. 

8  47th  Rep.  P.  G.,  1901,  app.,  p.  82. 


APPENDIX  251 
TABLE  VI  —  continued 

Year  ending            Gross  Revenue             Expenditure  Net  Revenue 

£                                 £  £ 

Mar.  21,  1901-02             14,465,870             10,465,101  4,000,769 

1902-03             15,005,262             10,819,938  4,185,324 

1903-04                   15,824,394                   11,201,122  4,623,272 

1904-05           16,274,978           11,446,279  4,828,699 

1905-06             17,064,023             11,849,012  5,215,011 

Est'm'd  I906-071  17,361,042  12,289,787       '      5,071,255 

»  S3d  Rep.  P.  G.}  1907,  p.  QSv 


252 


APPENDIX 


TABLE  VII 

AVERAGE  YEARLY  GROSS  REVENUE,  EXPENDITURE,  AND  NET  REVENUE 
OF  POST  OFFICE  FOR  THE  UNITED  KINGDOM  NOT  INCLUDING  TELE- 
GRAPHS FROM  1841  TO  1906. 


J84I-4S 
1846-50 

1851-55 
1856-60 
1861-65 
1866-70 
1871-75 
1876-81 

1881-86 

1886-91 

1891-96 

1896-1901 

1901-1906 


Gross  Revenue 

£ 
1,658,214 

2,143,717 
2,569,836 

3,135,587 
4,016,750 

4,729,155 

5,404,809 

6,326,141 

7,634,085 

9,121,032 

10,914,487 

13,001,286 

15,926,905 


Expenditure 

£ 

1,001,405 
1,304,772 
1,441,334 


3,013,389 
3,322,069 
3,784,886 
4,019,423 
4,958,152 
6,166,043 
7,701,292 
9,i74,5i6 
11,156,292 


Net  Revenue 

£ 
656,809 

838,944 
1,128,502 
1,349,676 
1,003,341 
1,407,086 
1,619,923 
2,306,718 

2,675,933 
2,954,989 

3,213,195 
3,826,770 

4,770,613 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

THIS  list  does  not  contain  a  complete  record  of  all  the  authori- 
ties consulted.  It  merely  brings  together,  with  a  fuller  statement  of 
title,  the  more  important  references  scattered  through  the  footnotes. 
Unless  it  is  otherwise  stated,  London  is  to  be  understood  as  the  place 
of  publication  for  the  English  books  here  cited. 

PRINTED    RECORDS  — PARLIAMENTARY   DOCUMENTS  — 

REPORTS 

Acts  of  Parliament. 

Acts  of  the  Parliament  of  Scotland.     12  vols.,  1814-75. 

Acts  of  the  Privy  Council  of  England.  New  Series,  ed.  J.  R.  Dasent.  32 

vols.,  1890-1907. 
Calendar  of  Border  Papers. 

Calendar  of  State  Papers,  America  and  West  Indies. 
Do.,  Colonial. 

Do.,  Domestic. 

Do.,  Foreign. 

Do.,  Ireland. 

Calendar  of  Treasury  Books. 
Calendar  of  Treasury  Books  and  Papers. 
Calendar  of  Treasury  Papers. 
Finance  Reports,  1797-98. 
Hansard.   The  Parliamentary  Debates.  422  vols.,  1803-91.   41  vols.,  to 

1820;  "New  Series,"  25  vols.,  to  1830;  Third  Series,  356  vols.,  to  1891. 

The  work  has  been  continued  under  other  management  since  1891, 

as  Parliamentary  Debates,  Fourth  and  Fifth  Series. 
Howell,  T.  J.   A  Complete  Collection  of  State  Trials  [to  1820].  34  vols., 

1816-28. 

Journals  of  the  House  of  Commons. 
Journals  of  the  House  of  Lords. 

Letters  and  Papers,  Foreign  and  Domestic,  of  the  Reign  of  Henry  VIII. 
[Cobbett,  William.]    The  Parliamentary  History  of  England,  from  the 

Earliest  Period  to  the  Year  1803.  36  vols.,  1806-20. 


254  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Parliamentary  Papers.  Since  1831  the  volumes  for  each  year  have  been 
arranged  regularly  in  four  series,  as  follows:  — 

1.  Bills  Public. 

2.  Reports  from  Committees. 

3.  Reports  from  Commissioners. 

4.  Accounts  and  Papers. 

The  volumes  are  ordinarily  quoted,  under  each  year,  according  to 
their  consecutive  numbering;  but  each  series  is  also  numbered  sepa- 
rately. 
Proceedings  and  Ordinances  of  the  Privy  Council  of  England.    Ed.  Sir 

Harris  Nicholas.     7  vols.,  1834-37. 

Reports  of  the  Postmasters-General  on  the  Post  Office.   Beginning  with 
1854-55.    These  may  be  quoted  either  according  to  their  consecutive 
numbering,  or  by  years:  ist  report  =  1855;  5ist  report  =  1905,  etc. 
Royal  Commission  on  Historical  Manuscripts.  Reports. 
Scobell,  Henry.  A  Collection  of  Acts  and  Ordinances  made  in  the  Parlia- 
ment held  3  Nov.  1640  to  17  Sept.  1656.    1658. 


OTHER  BOOKS 

Blomefield,  F.,  and  Parkin,  C.  An  Essay  towards  a  Topographical  History 

of  the  County  of  Norfolk.  2d  ed.,  n  vols.,  1805-10. 
Cunningham,  W.    The  Growth  of  English  Industry  and  Commerce  in 

Modern  Times.    3  vols.,  Cambridge,  1896-1903. 
De  Laune,Thomas.  Angliae  Metropolis:  or,  the  Present  State  of  London. 

1681. 

Dictionary  of  National  Biography. 

Eaton,  D.  B.  Civil  Service  in  Great  Britain.  New  York,  1880. 
Froude,  J.  A.  A  History  of  England  from  the  Fall  of  Wolsey  to  the  Death 

of  Elizabeth.     12  vols.,  New  York,  1870. 
Gairdner,  J.,  editor.   The  Paston  Letters.  3  vols.,  1872-75. 
Green,  E.    Bibliotheca  Somersetensis.    3  vols.,  Taunton,  1902. 
Joyce,  H.   The  History  of  the  Post  Office  from  its  Establishment  down  to 

1836.    1893. 

Knight,  Charles.    London.    6  vols.,  1841-44. 
Latimer,  John.  The  Annals  of  Bristol  in  the  XVII Ith  Century.  Bristol, 

1893. 

Lewins,  William.    Her  Majesty's  Mails.    2d  ed.,  1865. 
London  and  its  Environs  described.    6  vols.,  1761. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  255 

Macaulay,  T.  B.  History  of  England  from  the  Accession  of  James  II.  4 
vols.,  1849-56. 
Macpherson,  David.   Annals  of  Commerce,  Manufactures,  Fisheries,  and 

Navigation.    4  vols.,  London  and  Edinburgh,  1805. 
Maitland,  William.   The  History  and  Survey  of  London.  2  vols.,  1760. 
Maiden,  H.  E.   The  Cely  Papers:  Selections  from  the  Correspondence  and 

Memoranda  of  the  Cely  Family,  Merchants  of  the  Staple,  A.  D.  1475-88. 

1900. 

May,  T.  E.    Constitutional  History  of  England.   1882. 
Noorthouck,  John.   A  New  History  of  London.     1773. 
Ogilby,  John.    Itinerarium  Angliae.     1675. 
Roberts,  George.  The  Social  History  of  the  Southern  Counties  of  England 

in  Past  Centuries.     1856. 
Rothschild,  Arthur  de.  Histoire  de  la  Poste  aux  Lettres,  depuis  ses  Origines 

les  plus  Anciennes  jusqu1  a  nos  Jours.   2d  ed.,  Paris,  1873. 
Sharpe,  R.  R.    London  and  the  Kingdom.    3  vols.,  1894-95. 
Stow,  John  (1525-1605).   A  Survey  of  the  Cities  of  London  and  West- 
minster, improved  and  enlarged  by  John  Strype.    2  vols.,  1720. 
Thornbury,  W.,  and  Walford,  E.  Old  and  New  London.   6  vols.    [1873- 

78.] 

PERIODICALS 

The  Economist. 
The  London  Times. 
Notes  and  Queries. 

With  reference  to  the  foregoing  bibliography,  the  "Letters  and  Papers 
of  Henry  VIII  "  and  the  "  Calendar  of  State  Papers  "  have  formed  the 
basis  of  this  sketch  of  the  British  Post  Office  during  the  sixteenth  and 
seventeenth  centuries,  with  many  references  to  the  papers  of  private 
individuals  and  institutions  collected  by  the  Royal  Commission  on  His- 
torical Manuscripts.  The  "  Proceedings  and  Ordinances  and  the  Acts 
of  the  Privy  Council "  contain  important  orders  issued  to  the  Postmaster- 
General  or  the  postmen  during  the  sixteenth  century  as  well  as  com- 
plaints from  the  postmen  and  the  public.  From  the  beginning  of  the 
eighteenth  century  the  chief  sources  of  information  are  the  historical 
summaries  appended  to  the  "  Reports  of  Committees  and  Commis- 
sioners "  compiled  during  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Of 
these,  the  "Report  of  1844  "is  the  most  important.  The  "  Journals  of 
the  Lords  and  Commons  "  throw  some  light  upon  the  history,  purpose, 


256  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

and  intent  of  the  various  acts  of  Parliament  dealing  with  rates  and 
finance.  "The  Financial  Report  of  1797," various  returns  submitted 
to  the  House  of  Commons,  and  the  reports  contained  in  the  "  Accounts 
and  Papers  "  for  the  first  part  of  the  nineteenth  century  are  chiefly 
concerned  with  the  financial  side  of  the  history  of  the  British  Post  Office. 
Since  1840  the  most  important  sources  of  information  are  the  yearly 
reports  of  the  Postmasters-General,  dating  from  1854,  and  the  volumi- 
nous reports  of  committees  appointed  to  investigate  debated  points  in 
the  organization  and  policy  of  the  Post  Office  as  well  as  to  advise 
upon  matters  which  had  produced  friction  between  the  department 
and  its  employees. 

Of  the  secondary  works  there  is  little  to  be  said.  The  only  one  from 
which  any  important  information  has  been  obtained  is  Joyce's  "  His- 
tory of  the  British  Post  Office  to  1836."  This  book  contains  a  great  deal 
of  valuable  matter  arranged  in  rather  a  haphazard  fashion  and  with 
no  references.  Writing  as  a  Post  Office  official  at  the  end  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,  Joyce  hardly  appreciated  the  conditions  which  his  pre- 
decessors had  to  meet.  In  S  tow's  "London"  are  found  some  interest- 
ing facts  about  the  London  Penny  Post,  in  Blomefield's  "  Norfolk"  early 
postal  conditions  in  Norwich  are  described.  The  other  books  of  the 
same  description  contain  only  incidental  references  to  minor  points 
of  Post  Office  development. 


INDEX 


INDEX 


ABUSES  in  the  Post  Office,  42-46, 127, 128. 

Allen,  Ralph,  36,  37,  37  note. 

American  colonies,  Post  Office  in,  32,  33, 
5Q. 

American  Express  Company,  70. 

Annuities,  74.  See  also  Savings  Bank  Depart- 
ment. 

Arlington,  Lord,  27. 

Arundel,  Earl  of,  n. 

Assurance  facilities,  74.  See  also  Savings  Bank 
Department. 

Bennett,  Sir  John,  27. 

Billingsley,  n,  19. 

Bishop,  Henry,  24,  25. 

Book  Post,  68,  173.  See  also  Halfpenny  Post 
and  Rates,  Book  Post. 

Bower,  Sir  George,  80. 

Bradford  Committee,  84,  85. 

British  and  Inland  Magnetic  Telegraph  Com- 
pany, 202,  206,  208. 

Burlamachi,  Philip,  17,  18. 

Buxton,  Sydney,  85,  87,  88. 

Bye-letters,  35  note. 

Bye-posts,  36, 39, 144;  receipts  from,  185, 186. 

Canadian  Pacific  Railway  Company,  134. 

Carteret,  Lord,  42. 

Cash  on  delivery,  70,  71. 

Chamberlain,  A.,  83. 

Chesterfield,  Countess  of,  25. 

Clerks  of  the  road,  38,  50. 

Coaches.  See  Mail  Coaches  and  Post  Coaches. 

Coke,  Sir  John,  n,  12,  15, 16,  18,  in,  112. 

Competition  in  carrying  letters,  191-197. 

Competitive  examinations,  78. 

Compulsory  prepayment.  See  Prepayment  of 
rates. 

Cotton  and  Frankland,  31, 115. 

Cromwell,  orders  to  the  postmasters,  23. 

Cross-posts,  140,  144.  See  also  Bye-posts. 

Cross-post  letters,  35  note,  36.  See  also  Post- 
roads,  Cross-posts. 

Cunard  Steamship  Company,  132,  133,  134. 

Customs  duties,  125. 

Dead  Letter  Office,  50. 

Delivery  of  letters,  9,  38,  39;  rural,  65,  66; 

express  or  special,  67,  68. 
Departmental  committee,  82. 
De  Nouveau,  114. 
De  Quester,  10,  12, 135. 
De  Taxis,  112, 114. 


Dockwra,  William,  28,  30. 

Double  letter,  13  note. 

Dublin  Penny  Post,  30  note,  54,  150. 

Edinburgh  Penny  Post,  54. 

Edison  Telephone  Company,  219. 

Electric  and  International  Telegraph  Com- 
pany, 202,  205,  206,  208. 

Embossed  stamps.  See  Stamps. 

Employees,  postal,  appointment  brought  un- 
der civil  service  examination,  78,  79;  re- 
port of  Bradford  committee,  84,  85;  of 
departmental  committee,  82 ;  of  Hobhouse 
committee,  86-88;  civil  rights,  82;  postal 
unions,  85;  wages,  80,  83;  Tweedmouth 
settlement,  81,  82;  strike,  81;  grievances, 
80,  82,  83;  increase  in  wages,  81,  82. 

Evasion  of  rates,  197-201.  See  also  Monopoly, 
attempts  to  break. 

Express  delivery.  See  Delivery  of  letters. 

Farmers  of  the  Post  Office,  21,  22,  36,  37. 

Fawcett,  Henry,  74,  75,  80,  81. 

Fees,  9,  15,  45,  49. 

Fifth-clause  Posts,  65. 

Finances  of  Post  Office,  180-188. 

Foreign  connections:  Belgium,  in;  France, 
in,  113, 114, 115, 117,  118, 120;  Germany, 
in;  Holland,  in,  114;  Italy,  in,  115; 
United  States  and  the  colonies,  120  note; 
stages  settled  on  the  continent,  112.  See 
also  Rates  and  Sailing  Packets. 

Foreigners'  Post,  6,  7. 

Franking,  159-172;  by  members  of  Parlia- 
ment, 25;  of  newspapers,  48. 

Franking  department,  57. 

Frankland.  See  Cotton  and  Frankland. 

Freeling,  Sir  Francis,  52. 

Frizell,  11,  18,  24. 

Grimston,  205. 

Halfpenny  Post,  68,  69,  197. 

Hall,  John,  ii. 

Hamilton,  Andrew,  33. 

Hanbury,  82. 

Hicks,  James,  19,  20,  24,  26,  27,  112. 

Hill,  Sir  Rowland,  59-61,  187. 

Hobhouse  committee,  86-88. 

Inman  Steamship  Company,  132,  133 . 
Insurance  facilities,  74.  See  also  Savings  Bank 
Department. 


INDEX 


Ireland,  Post  Office  in,  31,  57.  See  also  Post- 
roads,  Rates,  and  Sailing  Packets,  Ireland. 

Letters,  number  of,  63. 
London  and  Globe  Telephone  Company,  220. 
London  District  Post,  71. 
London  District  Telegraph  Company,  202. 
London  Penny  Post,  28-30, 34, 35  note,  51,  52; 
receipts  from,  185.   See  Twopenny  post. 

Mail  coaches,  40,  41,  55,  104,  105. 

Manley,  John,  22,  23. 

Marconi  Company,  213,  214. 

Mason,  Sir  John,  7,  8. 

Merchant  Adventurers'  Post,  6,  II. 

Messengers,  3,  5,  67. 

Money  Order  Office,  50,  71. 

Money  orders,  176-180;  number  of,  71-73. 
See  also  Rates,  money  orders. 

Monopoly,  attempts  to  break,  191-197;  in 
carriage  of  letters  and  packets,  189-191, 195, 
196.  See  also  Telegraphs,  monopoly. 

Mowatt,  Sir  F.,  81. 

National  Telephone  Company,  222-224,  229, 

231,  233. 

Neale,  Thomas,  33. 
Newspaper  Office,  49. 
Newspapers,  chargeable  and  free,  68;  franking 

of,  48;  impressed  stamps  on,  68;  number  of, 

68.  See  also  Rates,  newspapers. 
New  Telephone  Company,  223. 
Norfolk,  Duke  of,  82. 

O'Neale,  Daniel,  25. 

Opening'and  detaining  letters,  16,  18,  21,  26, 
46-48,  196. 

Packet  list,  48. 

Packets.  See  Sailing  Packets.  ' 

Paget,  7. 

Palmer,  John,  40-42,  44. 

Parcel  Post,  70,  174.   See  also  Rates,  Parcel 

Post. 

Patronage,  78,  79. 
Pattern  and  Sample  Post,  69.   See  also  Rates, 

patterns. 
Peninsular  and  Oriental  Steamship  Company, 

132- 

Penny  Post.  See  London  Penny  Post. 
Penny  Postage,  59-62,  158-160. 
Pensions,  sailors',  127. 
Pitt,  William,  43. 
Plague,  26. 

Political  patronage.  See  Patronage. 
Postal  establishment,  in  seventeenth  century, 

27;  in  eighteenth,  38,  44;  in  nineteenth,  57. 
Postcards,  174;  number  of,  69, 69  note;  use  of, 

69.  See  also  Rates,  postcards. 
Post  coaches,  40. 


Post  horses,  5,  8;  fee  for  their  use,  89,  90,  92; 
licences  and  taxes,  94, 95, 95  note;  monopoly 
in  letting,  92, 94;  number  to  be  kept,  92, 93; 
supply  of,  89,  90. 

Postmarks,  29. 

Postmen's  Federation,  85  note. 

Post  offices,  number  of,  71. 

Post-roads,  13;  cross  posts,  103;  in  sixteenth 
century,  97,  101;  in  seventeenth  century, 
99;  maps,  101;  re-measured,  103,  104;  in 
north  of  England,  102,  104;  in  south,  102; 
in  Ireland,  102,  104;  in  Scotland,  103. 

Prepayment  of  rates;  compulsory  prepayment 
inadvisable,  26,  26  note;  unpopularity  of, 
64. 

Prideaux,  Edmund,  18-21, 136. 

Raikes,  81. 

Railways,  107, 1 08;  amounts  paid  for  convey- 
ance of  mails,  56,  78;  authority  of  Post- 
master-General over,  77;  principles  in- 
volved in  estimating  tollage  for  conveyance 
of  mails,  77. 

Randolph,  Thomas,  7,  8. 

Rates,  for  letters,  13,  23,  62-64;  by  weight, 
157;  re-directed,  173;  ships'  letters,  143, 148, 

153- 

In  England,  136,  137,  141,  142,  145-148, 
150,  151,  158;  Ireland,  136,  137,  141,  142, 

146,  151, 152,  158;  Scotland,  136-139,  141- 
143,  145-148,  150,  151,  158;  United  King- 
dom, 159, 172,  174. 

To  Austria,  135,  149,  150;  Belgium,  135, 
143,  149,  150,  155  note,  157,  176;  Cape  of 
Good  Hope,  153,  154;  Channel  Isles,  148, 
150;  Denmark,  137, 143, 149, 150, 155  note; 
East  Indies,  153, 154;  Egypt,  155  note,  156; 
France,  135,  137,  143,  149,  149  note,  150, 
155,  155  note,  176;  Germany,  135, 137, 143, 
149, 150, 155  note,  157;  Gibraltar,  155  note; 
Greece,  155  note,  156;  Holland,  135,  143, 
149, 150, 155  note,  157;  Italy,  115, 135, 137, 
143, 149, 150, 155  note,  156, 176;  Malta,  155 
note;  Mauritius,  153, 154;  Mexico,  155  note, 
157;  Norway,  155  note,  157;  Portugal,  143, 

147,  149,  150,  155  note;  Russia,  155  note; 
South  America,  155  note,  157;  Spain,  137, 
143,  149,  150,  155  note,  157,  176;  Sweden, 
137.  143,  149,  150,  155  note,  157;  Switzer- 
land, 155  note,  157;  Syria,  156;  Turkey,  137, 
149,  150,  155  note,  156;  North  American 
colonies,    143,   146,   147;    United    States, 
155  note,  175. 

In  North  American  colonies,  140,  141, 
144, 146;  West  Indies,  140,  140  note,  143, 
146. 

To  the  colonies,  159, 175;  to  foreign  coun- 
tries, 159,  176. 

Book  Post,  173;  money  orders,  71,  72, 
176  el  seq.;  newspapers,  153, 154, 173, 17S» 


INDEX 


26l 


176;  Parcel  Post,  174;   patterns,  samples,  i 
and  writs,  145,  173;  postcards,  174,  176. 

Registered  letters,  50,  64,  173,  174. 

Returned  Letter  Office,  57. 

Roads.  See  Post-roads. 

Royal  Mail  Steamship  Company,  132. 

Royal  Post,  3,  6. 

Sailing  Packets,  abuses  in  connection  with, 
127  et  seq.;  British  and  foreign  vessels,  123; 
cost  of,  128,  134;  customs  difficulties,  125; 
number  of,  120,  121;  ownership  transferred 
to  Admiralty,  129,  130;  steamships,  121- 
123,  131;  subsidies  for,  130,  131-134;  use  of 
private  ships,  120  note,  123,  124. 

To  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  120;  Deal  and  the 
Downs,  no;  East  Indies,  120;  France,  in, 
115,  116;  Gibraltar,  116;  Holland,  115-117; 
Ireland,  109,  no,  121;  Malta,  116;  Isle  of 
Man,  no;  Mauritius,  120;  Mexico,  120; 
Portugal,  115;  Scotland,  109-110;  South 
America,  120;  West  Indies,  118  et  seq. 

St.  Martin's-le-Grand,  57. 

Sample  Post.  See  Pattern  and  Sample  Post. 

Savings  Bank  Department,  73,  76;  annuity 
and  assurance  facilities,  74-77;  criticism  by 
"Economist,"  75  note. 

Scotland,  Post  Office  in,  31,  32,  34,  59.  See 
also  Post-roads,  Rates,  and  Sailing  Packets, 
Scotland. 

Scudamore,  203-205,  208. 

Shipping  list,  48,  49. 

Single  letters,  13  note. 

Smith,  Llewellyn,  81. 

Special  delivery.  See  Delivery. 

Speed,  14;  in  sixteenth  century,  98;  in  seven- 
teenth century,  98,  99,  100  note;  in  nine- 
teenth century,  104,  105,  105  note,  106;  by 
use  of  railways,  107,  108;  delays  and  at- 
tempts to  remedy  them,  100;  delays  between 
England  and  Ireland,  107;  means  for  secur- 
ing speed,  1 06. 

Stamps,  65,  68. 

Stanhope,  Charles,  8,  17,  24. 

Stanhope,  Lord  John,  8,  10,  135. 

Stanley,  Lord,  83-85,  203. 

Steamships.  See  Sailing  Packets,  Steamships. 

Strangers'  Post.  See  Foreigners'  Post. 

Sunday  posts,  55,  79,  80. 


Tankerville,  Earl  of,  42-44. 

Telegraphs,  cost  to  Government  of,  205,  206, 

208,  209;  finances,  216,  218;  government 
ownership  proposed,  203-205;  international 
agreement,   211-214;   messages  sent,   202, 
215;  monopoly,  207-208;  press  messages, 

209,  217;  private  companies,  202,  203;  rail- 
way interests  in,  206,  207,  209;  rates,  202, 
203,  209,  210,  213;  relations  with  Marconi 
Company,    213,    214;  underground    lines, 
211. 

Telephones,  call  offices,  224,  227;  exchange 
areas,  224;  finances,  236;  government,  220, 
221,  225,  228;  inter-communication,  224, 
229,  232,  234;  licences,  220-222,  224;  muni- 
cipal, 226,  228-230,  235;  purchase  agree- 
ment, 232  et  seq.',  rates,  227,  230,  232,  234, 
235;  trunk  lines,  221,  225;  underground 
wires,  231,  232,  234;  way-leave  powers,  221, 
223,  224,  232,  235. 

Threepenny  Post,  52-54. 

Thurloe,  23,  24. 

Travellers'  Post,  89;  abuses  by  postmasters, 
93 ;  by  travellers,  91, 91  note;  trials  of  travel- 
lers, 91. 

Triple  letters,  13  note. 

Tuke,  Sir  Brian,  4-7. 

Tweedmouth,  Lord,  81. 

Tweedmouth  settlement,  81,  82. 

Twopenny  Post,  52-54,  149. 

Unions.  See  Employees,  Postal  Unions. 
United  Kingdom  Telegraph  Company,  203, 

206,  208. 

United  Telephone  Company,  220,  222. 
Universal  Private  Telegraph  Company,  208. 

Wages,   4,  6  note;  arrears  in,  8,  25,  92,  99. 

See  also  Employees. 
Walpole,  Spencer,  81. 
Ward,  87. 

Warwick,  Earl  of,  18,  19. 
White  Star  Steamship  Company,  133. 
Windebank,  16,  17. 
Witherings,  Thomas,  n,  13-19,24,  111,112, 

135, 137,  138. 

York,  Duke  of,  25,  30. 


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